HARTFORD, Conn. — One state lawmaker is trying to turn her experience of assault into action.
State Rep. Maryam Khan — who was attacked outside the XL Center in downtown Hartford last year — is proposing a bill to clarify when police can pause or mute their body cams.
“I know when I was trying to piece together some of what happened to me, that there was a lot that was missed because the body cams were muted.”
Last June, Khan was physically assaulted by a man as she was leaving a prayer service at the XL Center with her friend and family members.
“My body went numb and I thought I was going to die,” she said, speaking about the incident in July of 2023.
Khan says her experience last year gave her a personal view of how incidents are handled by law enforcement, claiming parts of the system are “broken.”
“This is a field where there are some very minor things that can make a big difference in a case,” said Khan.
She’s now introducing a body cam bill, along with other measures she says will increase accountability.
Khan says in her experience, officers' body cameras were muted during conversations about charges.
“I brought this forward to really look at why and when is it okay, for that to happen. Previous to this I would have thought, I didn't know that they could even be muted,” she continued.
House Bill 5381 would clarify under which circumstances an officer can or cannot pause body-worn recording equipment.
Wednesday, the Judiciary Committee heard public testimony on this proposal.
“We were ordered out the car, told to lay down on the ground and officers started yelling at us,” said Hartford resident Terri Ricks. “They kept us on the ground for about 10 minutes. It was so frustrating and embarrassing because we had done nothing wrong.”
Ricks recounted her interactions with law enforcement in Hartford during the Judiciary Committee public hearing.
“That’s like writing a book with no narrative or a movie without a script. A story can’t be told with eyesight alone. We can’t understand the story without the voices,” Ricks said. “We should all be able to see and hear what is going on otherwise we can only assume that something is being hidden.”
Khan says she’s spoken with fellow lawmakers on the Judiciary Committee and sees support for the measure, feeling confident it will be advanced.
Emma Wulfhorst is a political reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at ewulfhorst@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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