Colorado Code § 16-3-311

Peace officer incident recordings
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(1) A person has the right to lawfully
record any incident involving a peace officer and to maintain custody and control of that
recording and the device used to record the recording. A peace officer shall not seize a recording
or recording device without consent, without a search warrant or subpoena, or without a lawful
exception to the warrant requirement.
(2) (a) If a peace officer seeks to obtain from a person a device used to record an
incident involving a peace officer in order to access the recording as possible evidence in an
investigation, the officer shall first:
(I) Advise the person of his or her name, his or her badge number or other identifying
number, and the name of the law enforcement agency;
(II) Identify the legal reason for which the information is requested; and
(III) If practicable under the circumstances, inquire whether the person will voluntarily
provide the officer with a copy of the specific recording that is relevant to the investigation
either by voluntarily providing the device to the officer or immediately electronically
transferring the information to the officer or the law enforcement agency so that the person may
retain possession of his or her device, the recording, and any personal non-evidentiary private
information contained on the device.
(b) If the person consents voluntarily to the transfer of the device to law enforcement,
the peace officer shall limit his or her search of the device to a search for the recording that is
relevant evidence to the investigation, and the device shall be returned to the person upon
request and with all convenient speed.
(c) If the person consents to an electronic transfer of the recording, the electronic
transfer shall take place as soon as possible and without unnecessary delay.
(d) In circumstances when the immediate electronic transfer is not practicable or if the
person does not consent to the electronic transfer of the evidentiary information or to the seizure
of the device, the peace officer may arrange for the transfer or delivery of the information or
device with the person to the peace officer or to the law enforcement agency by any alternative
means consistent with any policies and procedures of the law enforcement agency.
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, a peace officer has the authority to
temporarily seize and maintain control over a device that was used to record an incident
involving a peace officer for no longer than seventy-two hours to obtain a search warrant when
exigent circumstances exist such that the peace officer believes it is necessary to save a life or
when the peace officer has a reasonable, articulable, good-faith belief that seizure of the device
is necessary to prevent the destruction of the evidentiary recording while a warrant is obtained.
(3) The provisions of this section do not apply to devices seized incident to arrest.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to allow a person to interfere with a peace
officer in the lawful performance of his or her duties.

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