Bill would require TxDOT to retain traffic camera video to help solve crimes
Texas bill to require traffic cameras to retain video
Texas house looking to pass a bill that would require tx-dot to record and retain video from their traffic cameras, for 30 days.
DALLAS - The widow of a University Park man killed in an apparent road rage shooting urged lawmakers on Thursday to pass a new traffic safety bill.
House Bill 2621
What we know:
House Bill 2621 would require the Texas Department of Transportation to record and retain video from its traffic cameras for 30 days.
TxDOT has cameras all around the state. But they only serve as a live window to the highways. The cameras don’t record or retain any video.
The bill would make the recorded footage available to law enforcement to help solve crimes.
What they're saying:
"This legislation aims to enhance public safety by ensuring crucial evidence is preserved," said State Rep. Morgan Meyers of Dallas, the bill’s author.
Jennifer Szimanski, the deputy executive director of the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas or CLEAT, also spoke in favor of the bill.
"As a law enforcement officer for the last 17 years, nothing is more frustrating than not having the tools you need to solve a crime," she said.
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The other side:
TxDOT has said that archiving the video would cost $48 million over five years. But lawmakers questioned how the department came to that conclusion.
What's next:
The House Transportation Committee is expected to vote on the bill on Friday morning.
Chris Murzin’s Story
Dig deeper:
Christina Murzin told lawmakers about Feb. 11, 2021, the day the world changed for her and her three children.
"My husband, Chris Murzin, was shot and killed at 1 p.m. driving westbound on I-20 in Dallas," she said.
The 53-year-old was found dead in his SUV. Police were only able to find one image of a small silver SUV believed to be involved in the road rage shooting.
"Despite a 911 caller providing a description of the suspect’s vehicle, Chris’s murder remains unsolved four years later," his widow testified.
Investigators told her recordings from a TxDOT camera may have helped to solve the case.
What they're saying:
"Today should have been my 32nd wedding anniversary. Instead, I stand here a widow," Christina Murzin said. "I can’t help but wonder if there had been recorded TxDOT footage on the day Chris was killed, would his murderer already have been brought to justice? Sadly, my children and I will never know. But moving forward, oher families should not have to live with that same uncertainty."
Chris Murzin’s story hits close to home for Rep. Meyer.
"Chris and Christina attend our church. They live six or seven blocks from us. It is something incomprehensible to most of us that Chris was just driving, road rage incident. And you would think it would be easily solved," he said.
Louise Wilson’s Story
Dig deeper:
Daniel Wilson testified about the road rage shooting that took his 17-year-old daughter’s life.
Louise Wilson died on Dec. 10, 2023 while traveling southbound I-45 in Houston on her way to Galveston.
What they're saying:
"1,648 feet. That was the distance to the nearest camera. But TxDOT could only watch as the killer’s car drove by. No recording was captured and crucial evidence was lost. To this day, her killers have not been brought to justice," Daniel Wilson said.
The Source: The information in this story comes from Thursday's Texas House Transportation Committee hearing on HB 2121, as well as interviews with Chris Murzin's wife, Christina.