Sen. Young’s bill to prohibit first responders from sharing photos or videos of the deceased approved by Public Safety Committee

OKLAHOMA CITY – Senate Bill 480, authored by Sen. George Young, D-Oklahoma City, was unanimously approved by the Senate Public Safety Committee Thursday. SB 480 would prohibit any first responder from sharing photographic images or video of a deceased individual taken while on the scene of the incident for any reason other than official law enforcement purposes.

“This session, I authored Senate Bill 480, which creates a pathway to ensure that families who lose a loved one in an accident are safeguarded from first responders prematurely capturing the unfortunate events and publicizing the photographs,” Young said. “Families should be given the opportunity to mourn their loss without unnecessary exposure to the public. This bill will prevent first responders from falling prey to some of the ill-fated motivations of others to share images with the general public or anyone.”

Young believes this bill will help increase the public’s trust in first responders, as they would ensure sensitive situations are handled with extreme care.

SB 480 can be considered next by the full Senate.

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For more information, contact:

Sen. George Young at 405-521-5531, or email George.Young@oksenate.gov.