Skateboarders, skiers and others who pursue high-speed sports use body cameras to document their feats from a first-person view.
But since this summer’s series of conflicts between police and their constituents in places including Hammond, Ferguson, Mo., and New York City, law enforcement agencies have started taking a harder look at incorporating body cams as standard equipment.
Video documentation of every officer’s interaction, police say, would provide an accurate accounting of an incident from beginning to end.
Gary police announced last week that officers would begin trying different models of body cameras as administrators study the policies other agencies employ when police use them.
It’s more than just pushing a button and letting the camera roll.
Privacy issues, juvenile involvement, cost of maintenance and public access are some of the issues that need to be resolved before cameras are routine.
And then there’s the whole business of storing and retrieving the recordings collected every day, all day, by dozens of police officers.
“Right now, our goal is to evaluate the cameras that are out there, look at the videos and see if they’re useful,” police public information officer Sgt. Thomas Decanter said. The first trial run is a Wolfcam Vision issued to Cpl. Daniel Quasney and his probationary officer, Patrolman Michael Jackson. Jackson is the son of veteran officer Sgt. Michael Jackson, currently the traffic supervisor.
Decanter said the camera will go to an officer on the afternoon shift next week, then someone on the midnight crew will try it before the process starts over with a different brand. In the meantime, the city is looking for funding sources to buy the cameras and meeting with other departments to learn more about their experience.
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Two transit officers at Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District bought their own and use them daily, Chief Robert Byrd said. He said their recordings have been shown in court, both in Chicago and locally, and have proved invaluable to show both sides of an incident accurately.
Patrolman Charlie Mathewson, an eight-year NICTD police veteran, bought his Taser International camera for about $400. “It helps reduce false complaints,” he said.
For any incident involving police on a train, Byrd said, “the first thing that happens is everyone else pulls out their phones and starts videotaping.”
Parts of those scenes invariably end up on YouTube, Mathewson said. “But my camera shows from beginning to end, instead of just that 30 seconds,” he added.
Valparaiso police spokesman Cpl. Michael Grennes said his department is looking into the concept. Cameras are expensive, he noted, and multiple policy issues need to be resolved. One Valpraiso officer used one for a time, he said, but the equipment won’t be expanded until police administrators have more information.
Decanter said Gary is in the early stages of the process. He plans to meet with Indiana University Northwest police this week, as that department proceeds with body cameras.
Mathewson said he sees the camera as an asset. “It doesn’t change the way I act. Sometimes you have to escalate a situation because what you’ve been doing isn’t working. You still have to do your job.”