A recent piece of Legislation has just become effective that affects the Fire Service. This law applies to all first responders who respond to or are otherwise present at the scene of a crime, accident, or other emergency in the performance of his or her official duty. HB 1917 establishes Chapter 271, section 51 (a) which prohibits taking photographs or digital images of a victim of a crime, accident or other emergency incident without the permission of the victim, or their immediate family if the victim is incapacitated. This does not preclude recording their image in the performance of their official duty. The new law also prohibits the transmission of, dissemination of, or making available to a third person , an image of a victim , again unless it is in the performance of your official duty. Violation of this law is punishable by a fine of up to $2000. or imprisonment for up to 1 year, or both. So once again, be careful of what gets posted on social media. Let me know if you have any questions.
Bill Scoble