First respondersNew Jersey first responders prohibited from taking crash scene photos

Published 11 November 2011

New Jersey lawmakers are currently considering a bill that would make it illegal for first responders to take pictures or videos of an accident and distribute them without the permission of the victim’s family; under the proposed law, any first responder who circulates an accident photo or video without permission could face as much as eighteen months in jail or a $10,000 fine

New Jersey lawmakers are currently considering a bill that would make it illegal for first responders to take pictures or videos of an accident and distribute them without the permission of the victim’s family.

Under the proposed law, any first responder who circulates an accident photo or video without permission could face as much as eighteen months in jail or a $10,000 fine.

The law has been named “Cathy’s law,” after Cathy Bates, a New Jersey mother who was killed in a fatal car accident in 2009. During the rescue, a member of the Pinewood Estates Volunteer Fire Company took photos of Bates inside her crushed car and posted them to Facebook.

Bates’s family felt enraged and violated by the pictures.

“It’s bad enough to have that happen. Then to have these photos posted online — everyone becomes a victim,” said Lucille Bates-Wickward, Cathy’s mother.

“I don’t want her son, who is now six years old, to ever, ever see those pictures,” Bates-Wickward added. “Our entire family is still distressed over her death and those unnecessary photos.”

In response to the incident, several state lawmakers introduced “Cathy’s law” in February.

“Out of basic decency and respect, accident victims and their horrible ordeal simply should not be put on public display by (first aid and fire) first-responders who are entrusted with caring for these persons, unless otherwise permitted by accident victims or their families,” said Republican state senator Christopher Connors, one of the bill’s sponsors. “Some victims and their families may permit footage to be used for first responder training or some other purpose, but it should be their decision if the public sees it, and theirs alone.”

Many local emergency response agencies already have some form of policy regulating the practice of taking pictures of an accident scene.

Lieutenant Mike Maloney of the Millstone Fire Department said his agency does not allow first responders to take or distribute photos without permission.

“Our policy is that any photos that are taken and posted or released must be approved by our (superior) officers,” he said. “If we have a fatal (accident), we don’t release any photos associated with it.”

Maloney did note that on occasion, the department posts photos on its website to show the community the types of calls it answers.

“During an incident we are working to address the issue that is going on, we only take aftermath photos and post them or release them,” he said.

Howard Meyer, the legislative director of the New Jersey First Aid Council, which consists of roughly 300 volunteer first aid squads across the state, agrees with “Cathy’s law,” but has some concerns that the law could potentially disrupt rescue operations.

“We understand the need for the law, there is no reason to do something like that,” Meyer said. “My only concern with it is if we took a photo of the incident and then presented it to a doctor, so he could review it before he treats the patient. If this law goes through, would that be illegal? These are questions that we need to be answered.”

He added, “Most squads around the state have some type of bylaw that prohibits this, and if they see something like this going on, they usually deal with it.”

The bill is currently in the State Assembly’s Health and Services Committee as well as the equivalent state senate committee. As of yet, no timetable has been set for a committee hearing on the bill.