Lawmakers voted Friday, Feb. 28 to advance to the Senate floor a bill that would explicitly require university police departments to use body cameras, after it was substituted for clarifying language.
Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D-Las Cruces) proposed Senate Bill 505 after learning that the University of New Mexico Police Department took the stance that it wasn’t subject to a 2020 state statute that required police departments to adopt body cameras.
“I was disappointed to see and hear that,” Cervantes said. “I was happy to see that NMSU and others were compliant with our wishes.”
In August 2024, UNMPD announced that the department would obtain the devices.
The bill would add police departments of post-secondary institutions to the list of agencies required to have body cameras, and it would strengthen the assumption that officers act in bad faith when they do not activate their cameras.
SB 505 indicates that officers who fail to comply with their department’s body camera policies “shall” be deemed to have acted in bad faith — a change from the current law, which indicates that they “may” be deemed to have acted in bad faith.
Police officers from departments across the state testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee in opposition to the latter part of the bill on Wednesday, Feb. 26, before it was substituted and heard again on Feb. 28. The substitution added that officers who “knowingly or intentionally” fail to comply with body camera policies shall be presumed to have acted in bad faith.
Attorney Cid Lopez spoke in favor of the bill on Feb. 26.
“For the University of New Mexico, because they are police officers, they should be using these cameras,” Lopez said.
New Mexico State Police Chief Troy Weisler testified in opposition to part of the bill on Feb. 28.
“State Police is in support of the vast majority of the bill,” Wesler said. “Really, our only issue is the continued inclusion of ‘shall’ in place of ‘may.’”
Those opposing the bill argued that the presumption of bad faith could wrongfully implicate officers who have technical difficulties when activating their cameras. The substitute bill passed with a vote of 5-4.
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“It makes it very clear — abundantly clear — that we expect university police departments to follow the same standards and technology that all other law enforcement do,” Cervantes said.
Lauren Lifke is the managing editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at managingeditor@dailylobo.com or on X @lauren_lifke
Lauren Lifke is the managing editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at managingeditor@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @lauren_lifke
