Tennessee license plate reader camera law named for Caitlyn Kaufman under review
As the trial for the two men charged in the shooting death of Butler County native Caitlyn Kaufman in Tennessee slowly approaches, implementation of a law that bears her name and allows for cameras to be installed along interstate highways is being held up due to a review.
The Caitlyn Kaufman Interstate Safety Act, which was singed into Tennessee law in May 2021, is being vetted by the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the governor’s office, the state’s Department of Safety, and Homeland Security for privacy and other issues
“It took me two years to get the bill passed,” said state Rep. Mark White, a Republican who represents part of Shelby County and sponsored the bill in the state House.
Automatic license plate readers (ALPR) are in use on other roads in the state, but the law was needed in order to use them on interstates and state highways, White said.
His bill was merged with a Senate bill and passed both chambers before Gov. Bill Lee signed it into law.
The law allows police to use ALPR cameras for criminal investigations and searches for missing people, White said. If the cameras had been in place on Dec. 3, 2020, they could have have helped police arrest the suspects in Kaufman’s death sooner, he said.
“She was on Interstate 440 going to work. She was shot from another car. We were told we could have caught them earlier if we had this,” White said.
The suspects, James E. Cowan, 29, and Devaunte L. Hill, 22, both of Nashville, are facing first degree murder charges in Kaufman’s death. Hill was arrested Dec. 11, 2020, and Cowan was arrested Jan. 12, 2021. Their trial is scheduled for Jan. 23, 2023.
A third suspect, Dimeneshia Carter, 21, was charged with accessory after the fact for allegedly harboring Cowan, her boyfriend.
A witness testified in a court proceeding last year that road rage might have been the motive behind the shooting. The witness and investigators said Kaufman might have cut off the suspect’s vehicle in traffic.
A 1-mile portion if I-440 was named after Kaufman in March 2021.
An amendment attached to the license plate reader bill named the legislation after Kaufman.
“This amendment names the act after Caitlyn Kaufman, a nurse who was on her way to work at St. Thomas West Hospital in Nashville and was shot, and her life was taken on Interstate 440,” White said on House floor on April 22, 2021, before the bill passed on a 54-32 vote with four members present, but not voting. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate on April 28, 2021.
According to the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), state law does not require the department to approve ALPR cameras on interstate and state highway rights of way, but TDOT is charged with assessing requests for consideration.
Since passage of the legislation, TDOT has developed a draft process component of how to permit these devices. There is an ongoing review of the state’s role in ALPR implementation with privacy, the collection and use of information, and assessing compelling public safety need, according to TDOT.
“The issue of cameras on state highway right of way has long been a concern of elected policy makers in both the executive and legislative branches of government in Tennessee, and the department seeking to ensure that a thorough vetting has taken place before implementing any new policies,” TDOT spokeswoman Beth Emmons said in an email.
In Pennsylvania, ALPR cameras have been in use for many years.
“State or local law enforcement can use them for conducting criminal investigations and government entities can use them for controlling access to a secure area. They can’t be used for violation enforcement,“ said PennDOT spokeswoman Christina Gibbs.
PennDOT also has traffic cameras that motorists can access online at 511pa.com to monitor roadways for traffic congestion, weather conditions and crashes, she said.
