BODY CAMS

An extra layer of protection is finding its way onto the uniforms of some area police officers. It’s something that could protect them from potential civil and criminal liability down the road.
Police body cameras are in the experimental phase at the Owatonna Police Department. A couple weeks ago some select officers within the department began wearing the body cameras during a 30-day test. Another 30-day trial period will begin right after the first one with a different vendor. 
The department is experimenting with two of the leading vendors of body cameras, Axon and WatchGuard, before making a decision about having them standard for all police officers, according to Captain Jeff Mundale, who is leading the project for Owatonna Police. 
While no final decision has been made at this time, the department is operating under a draft policy for the operation of body cameras during the trial period. The policy, which has been posted on the department’s website, is currently open for public comment by writing to the Owatonna Police, 204 E. Pearl St., Owatonna, MN 55060. 
Mundale said a public meeting will be held during a regular council meeting in the future prior to the department officially launching the program. 
The primary purpose for body-worn cameras is to capture evidence arising from police encounters with citizens. Under the temporary policy, officers are required to activate the cameras when responding to all calls for service, during all law enforcement-related encounters and activities and during any police-citizen contact that becomes adversarial. 
Officers have no duty to inform people that a camera is being operated, according to the policy. However, if officers are asked, they must clearly tell citizens if they are or are not being recorded. 
All body camera data shall be retained for a minimum period of 90 days, the policy states. Certain kinds of data must be retained for six years, including the use of deadly force or other sufficient type of use of force and incidents that resulted in an adversarial encounter, complaint against an officer or triggered an internal investigation. The discharge of a firearm by a peace officer must be maintained for at least one year. 
Data privacy, Mundale said, is different on body cameras than other recording devices. “Body cameras have different statutory protections unlike an inside squad camera,” he said. 
One concern Mundale has is the amount of storage it will take to save all the department’s citizen encounters. “It’s enormous the amount of data it takes,” he said. 
Mundale expects the biggest concerns that will be shared by the public are cost and privacy issues. Body cameras run between $300 and $500 each. However, it’s not the cost of the camera itself that is the concern. “The biggest expense is if you house your own data,” he explained. For that reason, the department is exploring leasing options as well as utilizing cloud-based programs for storage. 
While body cameras can provide great evidence under ideal conditions, Mundale warned that officers are often involved in less than ideal conditions. He related how he has seen body camera footage where there is no clear view of what happened because the camera is flying all over and may end up pointed toward the sky or at the ground. 
“When you get in tight and you’re in a bare hug, what are you going to see?” Mundale asked. “When things are dynamic, you don’t know what kind of quality you’re going to get,” he said. “It’s not like you’re watching Cops on TV. The filming won’t be done from a safe and controlled environment.”
But Mundale acknowledges body cameras are what the public wants to see. “When there is a use of force, they want to see the body camera video,” he said. 
Mundale said the body cameras have been working well during the initial phase of testing. He noted they are finding how important positioning of the cameras is on the officers, especially with outer coats. 
A final decision is expected to be made by mid-summer. 
The Steele County Sheriff’s Office is also very interested in exploring the use of body cameras. Sheriff Lon Thiele said his office has already purchased equipment that could be compatible to the cameras to save money. 
“I need to protect my team anyway I can,” Thiele says. “If someone makes a claim against a deputy and the footage shows differently that is beneficial to the conty to prevent negative lawsuits,” he said, adding the mobile cameras have already proven that. 
Thiele expects to implement a program within the next year. He said his office is still exploring which body camera would be the best fit for them. His biggest concern is the storage of the body cam data. 
Blooming Prairie Police is also considering body cameras. Chief Greg Skillestad said he doesn’t have a specific timeline as he is still in the preliminary stages of implementing a program. “We have a lot of work to do with policy and procedures,” he said.