{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-61.168","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 61.168","heading":"Body -worn cameras and video and audio recordings -- Disclosure,","body":"retention, and availability for viewing governed by KRS 61.870 to 61.884 and\n171.410 to 171.740 -- Exceptions.\n(1) As used in this section:\n(a) \"Body-worn camera\" means a video or audio electronic recording device that\nis carried by or worn on the body of a public safety officer. This definition\ndoes not include a dashboard mounted camera or recording device used in the\ncourse of clandestine investigations;\n(b) \"Body-worn camera recording\" or \"recording\" means a video or audio\nrecording, or both, that is made by a body -worn camera during the course of a\npublic safety officer's official duties;\n(c) \"Personal representative\" means a court-appointed guardian, attorney, or agent\npossessing written authorization to act on behalf of a person that is involved in\nan incident contained in a body -worn camera recording, a person holding a\npower of attorney for a person that is involved in an incident contained in a\nbody-worn camera recording,  or the parent or guardian of a minor child\ndepicted in a body -worn camera recording. If a person depicted in the\nrecording is deceased, the term also means the personal representative of the\nestate of the deceased person, the deceased person's surviving s pouse, parent,\nor adult child, the deceased person's attorney, or the parent or guardian of a\nsurviving minor child of the deceased;\n(d) \"Public agency\" has the same meaning as in KRS 61.870(1);\n(e) \"Public safety officer\" means any individual that is an e mployee of a public\nagency who is certified as a first responder under KRS Chapter 311A or\nwhose employment duties include law enforcement or firefighting activities;\nand\n(f) \"Use of force\" means any action by a public safety officer that results in death,\nphysical injury as defined in KRS 500.080, discharge of a personal body\nweapon, chemical agent, impact weapon, extended range impact weapon,\nsonic weapon, sensory weapon, conducted energy weapon, or a firearm, or\ninvolves the intentional pointing of a pub lic safety officer's firearm at a\nmember of the public.\n(2) Except as provided in this section, the disclosure of body -worn camera recordings\nshall be governed by the Kentucky Open Records Act, as set forth in KRS 61.870 to\n61.884.\n(3) The retention of bod y-worn camera video recordings shall be governed by KRS\n171.410 to 171.740, and the administrative regulations promulgated by the\nKentucky Department for Libraries and Archives.\n(4) Notwithstanding KRS 61.878(4), unless the request meets the criteria provi ded\nunder subsection (5) of this section, a public agency may elect not to disclose body -\nworn camera recordings containing video or audio footage that:\n(a) Includes the interior of a place of a private residence where there is a\nreasonable expectation of p rivacy, unless the legal owner or lessee with legal\npossession of the residence requests in writing that the release be governed\nsolely under the provisions of KRS 61.870 to 61.884;\n(b) Includes the areas inside of a medical facility, counseling, or therap eutic\nprogram office where a patient is registered to receive treatment, receiving\ntreatment, waiting for treatment, or being transported in the course of\ntreatment;\n(c) Would disclose health care information shared with patients, their families, or\nwith a  patient's care team or that is considered protected health information\nunder the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996;\n(d) Includes the areas inside of a correctional facility when disclosure would\nreveal details of the facility that would jeopardize the safety, security, or well-\nbeing of those in custody, the staff of the correctional facility, or law\nenforcement officers;\n(e) Is of a sexual nature or video footage that contains nude images of an\nindividual's genitals, pubic area, anus, or the female nipple;\n(f) Is of a minor child, including but not limited to footage involving juvenile\ncustody matters;\n(g) Includes the body of a deceased individual;\n(h) Would reveal the identity of witnesses, confidential law enforcement\ninformants, or undercover law enforcement officers, or if the release could\njeopardize the safety, security, or well -being of a witness or confidential\ninformant;\n(i) Would reveal the location information of a domestic violence program or\nemergency shelter;\n(j) Would reveal information related to schools, colleges, and universities that is\nprotected by the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act;\n(k) Would result in the disclosure of nonpublic or confidential data classified as\nCriminal Justice Information Services data by the Federal Bureau of\nInvestigation;\n(l) Includes a public safety officer carrying out duties directly related to the\nhospitalization of persons considered mentally ill;\n(m) Includes the depiction of the serious injury or death of a public safety officer;\nor\n(n) Includes footage made in conjunction with a law enforcement exercise that\nincludes special response team actions, hostage neg otiations, or training\nevents, but only where the public release of tactics, operational protocol, or\nmethodology would disadvantage the capability of public safety officers to\nsuccessfully respond in emergency or other dangerous situations.\n(5) If the recording contains video or audio footage that:\n(a) Depicts an encounter between a public safety officer where there is a use of\nforce, the disclosure of the record shall be governed solely by the provisions\nof KRS 61.870 to 61.884, including all of the exceptions contained therein;\n(b) Depicts an incident which leads to the detention or arrest of an individual or\nindividuals, the disclosure of the record shall be governed solely by the\nprovisions of KRS 61.870 to 61.884, including all of the exceptions contai ned\ntherein;\n(c) Depicts an incident which is the subject of a formal complaint submitted\nagainst a public safety officer under KRS 15.520, 67C.326, or 95.450, or\ndepicts an incident which is the subject of a formal legal or administrative\ncomplaint against the agency employing the public safety officer, the release\nof the record shall be governed by the provisions of KRS 61.870 to 61.884,\nincluding all of the exceptions contained therein; or\n(d) Is requested by a person or other entity or the personal repr esentative of a\nperson or entity that is directly involved in the incident contained in the body -\nworn camera recording, it shall be made available by the public agency to the\nrequesting party for viewing on the premises of the public agency, but the\npublic agency shall not be required to make a copy of the recording except as\nprovided in KRS 61.169. The requesting parties shall not be limited in the\nnumber of times they may view the recording under this paragraph.\n(6) Nothing in this section or KRS 61.169 shall be interpreted to override any provision\nrelated to:\n(a) Reports by law enforcement officers and criminal justice agencies under KRS\n17.150;\n(b) The law and rules governing discovery or the submission and display of\nevidence in any court proceeding, w hether criminal or civil, or any\nadministrative proceeding; or\n(c) The provisions of KRS 189A.100.","path":["KRS Chapter 61"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=52953","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:14Z","sha256":"0e4c98df12ccda3716b9fd33fb237303bc24bd6daa0a046e38878219d0d7af1e","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-61.167","next":"us-ky/krs-61.169"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}