A bill proposed by the Indiana legislature would give police departments the option of withholding video footage from body cameras or dashboards.

Video from police body cameras would not be subject to Freedom of Information laws if a bill passes the legislature this session.

Police departments around the country are investing in body cameras - especially in light of cases like Michael Brown in Ferguson and Laquan McDonald in Chicago. Video footage from those incidents and others shed light on police actions, and advocates for body cameras believe they help hold police officers accountable.

However, a bill proposed by the Indiana legislature would give police departments the option of withholding video footage from body cameras or dashboards. Members of law enforcement argue what makes body camera video so valuable - that point-of view-image - is also what makes it so sensitive.

“Somebody may not want that video released to the public,” said Chief Jason Dombkowski of the West Lafayette Police Department. His officers have been using cameras for two years and he’s been called on to testify on the issue before Indiana state legislative committees. He says privacy is a real concern.

“Family pictures, the layout of somebody's home, people having maybe their worst day and that being on video and maybe accessed by members of the public or media.”

So far, state lawmakers agree. Under House Bill 1019 , police departments would have almost absolute power to withhold releasing video.

“This pretty much starts off with, yes, you can keep everything secret and the public has to argue for it to be made available,” said Steve Key, executive director of the Hoosier State Press Association.

That means people would have to sue police departments to release video and a judge would make the final decision. Even if individuals won the lawsuit, under the proposed law, legal expenses would not be reimbursed.

“All the cards are dealt towards keeping it secret, unless for the police department it exonerates their officer, then they'll say, 'OK, here, we'll let you see it.' That's just kind of human nature, I'm afraid,” said Key.

In West Lafayette, officials say the body camera program has been incredibly successful, and they point to one factor: use of force incidents. In 2013, before officers had the cameras, there were 29. Last year, the first year all officers were equipped, there were just 10.

“Everybody behaves differently on camera: citizens, people we're taking into custody and police,” said Dombkowski.

Under the proposed bill, the public would have a right to view video if they themselves were videotaped, if a deceased relative was captured on video or if their property was in the video. Even in those situations, the video can only be viewed twice and police departments aren’t required to provide a copy of the video. In all other cases, it would be at the discretion of each department which videos it wants to release.

"Police video footage can be kept confidential, period, regardless of what the video shows. It starts with that premise, so yes, it's bad policy," said Key.