From the Durham Herald-Sun (3/23/11): State senators voted 50-0 on Tuesday to approve and send to the N.C. House a Durham-requested bill that would partially exempt the recordings of 911 calls from North Carolina's public-records laws.
“It’s gratifying to see that type of broad base of support,” Sen. Floyd McKissick, D-Durham, said after the vote. “I was very pleased to see that everybody understood there was a need to protect the identity of those who call 911 and in some instances may be putting their lives on the line.”
The bill, introduced by McKissick and Sen. Bob Atwater, D-Chatham, gives law enforcement the discretion to release transcripts or voice-disguised recordings to the public, if they feel that’s necessary to protect a witness’ identity.
It specifies that authorities must preserve the original recording and make it available for use as evidence in “any relevant civil or criminal proceeding.”
McKissick and Atwater introduced the bill at the behest of the Durham Police Department and the Durham Crime Cabinet.
Police started pushing for the measure in response, they say, to the loss of cooperation from a potential witness in a recent case.
Read more: The Herald-Sun – 911 call bill gets Senate approval