Governor Kevin Stitt signed Senate Bill 679 which establishes a process to protect the identities of undercover law enforcement officers. The bill’s authors, Senator Darrell Weaver and Rep. Chris Kannady, believe creating this process will better protect undercover officers.
“As the former Director of the Bureau of Narcotics, I recognized the roll of the undercover, covert agent in our state is different than a uniform patrol officer. The covert officer relies upon his or her identity not being exposed,” Weaver said. “Defendants at times believe they have been deceived. They feel it’s a personal blow when they find out the person they have been dealing with is actually a law enforcement officer, so there’s a high level of resentment and hostility. This is different than the patrol officer who has the marked vehicle sitting in front of their house. This bill simply puts a layer of protection for these officers to secure their identity.”
The process allows law enforcement agencies to request that county assessors keep personal information for undercover or covert officers from being published with records on the internet. The agency must have a court order based on a sworn affidavit by the supervising officer that the individual works undercover.
“I was happy to author this bill that protects the personal information of those who are working undercover to keep our citizens and our communities safe,” Kannady said. “I’m grateful for the work these individuals perform, and I will do everything I can to help them do their job without needless worry.”
