With recent fatal police shootings clouding trust between law enforcement and the public, local police departments are working to make safety a priority for officers and residents with the use of body cameras.
Thus far, some say the technology has proven to be beneficial.
For South Euclid Police, the benefits of the body cameras became evident shortly after officers started wearing them.
On Oct. 18 two officers responded to a home to find a man using a knife to attack a woman.
When the man ignored commands from the officer to drop the weapon, Patrolman Steve Wilson fired two shots, hitting and killing 44-year-old suspect Ronnie D. McNary.
Wilson had just been outfitted with a body camera that day, and the incident was captured on the device. That piece of evidence will play a large role as the case is reviewed by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, said South Euclid police Chief Kevin Nietert.
In the weeks since the shooting, nearly all road officers have been trained and are using the cameras. The department bought 35 cameras for a total of $24,000.
The department has found many benefits to the devices, including a few that were not anticipated, Nietert said.
While the devices are video cameras, they can also be used as still cameras. Officers have taken many more pictures during their daily police work such as something as relatively simple as taking a picture of a car parked illegally in a handicap spot, the chief said.
This photographic evidence then helped solve differences between the officer’s account and a citizen’s, Nietert said.
As the cameras cannot run 24/7 because of battery limitations, officers do still need to turn the devices on. This has been one of the program’s growing pains as some officers have failed to turn on the cameras at times, but those issues have been solved by verbal warnings or, at worst, a written warning, Nietert said.
The department also had to create a retention policy for the videos, which are saved on a multi-terabyte hard drive. Videos are stored for 90 days unless they are requested and have legal or administrative value. The department believes 90 days is a happy medium between giving the public ample time to file a complaint without eating up storage space with unnecessary videos, Nietert said.
In Willoughby, a few of the police department’s school resource officers have been using the body cameras for a little more than a year.
Detective Lt. James Schultz said the body cameras are a significant investment, so using them in the schools has served as a productive way to test them out.
‘We like what we’ve seen so far,’ Schultz said. ‘It gives a great view of 130 degrees in front of the officer.’
When officers and citizens know they are being recorded, they will more often act appropriately, he said.
‘Just the camera being there, that changes behavior sometimes,’ Schultz said.
Ptl. Chuck Popik, the school resource officer at South High School in Willoughby, said the camera has not changed the way he does his job, but can act as an easy way to settle he-said-she-said type disputes.
The cameras, which cost about $300 to $500 each, turn on with a quick and easy three taps of a button on his belt, Popik said.
Schultz said he thinks the department will eventually expand the program, but outfitting about 25 officers will prove to be quite an expense.
While those that have bought the devices have found benefits, not all departments have jumped at the chance to purchase body cameras.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office does not have any plans to start using body cameras. The department also does not use dashboard cameras in its cruisers, Sheriff Daniel Dunlap said.
The body cameras are an expensive investment, and Dunlap said the lack of cameras have not generated any problems or complaints from the public.
‘Without body cameras, there’s a very good chance you’re being filmed anyway,’ said Dunlap, citing smart phones and surveillance cameras as being now almost omnipresent.
Some Lorain County police departments also are in the midst of exploring and utilizing body cameras to not only assist them in their roles, but provide a third-party perspective in officer-resident interactions.
Wellington police Sgt. Jeff Shelton said the police department has had dash cams in its cruisers, however these devices can’t capture what happens when officers leave their cars to handle an incident. This called for the need for new technology, he said.
‘The problem is once we pull up to the scene and our officers either go into a house or business, you don’t have camera footage anywhere,’ Shelton said. ‘So at least this way, you’re going to be able to see what the officer sees in the house.’
The department began having discussions on body cams in August in an effort to create what he described as a safer environment for officers and the public. The department has since ordered 18 cameras, featuring visual and audio capture capabilities for up to four continuous hours, for use by each of its officers. As soon as it receives the storage facility hardware, the department will put officers out on the road with the cams this month.
Shelton hopes the cameras can hold officers and citizens accountable for their interactions in the case that something questionable occurs.
‘This way is just a little bit more of a safety net for the public and police officers,’ he said. ‘We’re not trying to get either party in trouble. It puts them on an even playing ground.’
Because body cams can be beneficial to the safety of both officers and citizens, Shelton said this makes the technology a ‘double edge sword.’
‘It’s going to protect both (parties), but (you’re) going to find bad parts of both also, so you’re really going to be on your toes,’ he said.
Newly appointed Wellington police Chief Tim Barfield explained he mostly saw benefits from the use of body cams in his former position at Maple Heights Police Department, which he said utilized the footage to gather evidence and confirm facts regarding citizen complaints.
Although it has not been the case in every situation, he said the majority of the time citizens learned their perceptions of incidents were different than what actually occurred after police reviewed footage of officer-civilian interactions.
‘My experience is that the video will end up justifying and exonerating policemen of complaints that do come in. Most of the time, police were doing what they had to do,’ Barfield said.
‘… It’s a sad point in time when a police’s word isn’t good enough,’ he said. ‘But that’s OK because we can work with the technology.’
He recognized if a police officer is in the wrong, he believes they should be held accountable, and the footage captured on these cameras can help back citizen claims.
‘There were times officers were disciplined from what we saw,’ Barfield said if his former place of work. ‘If the citizens are right and the policemen are wrong, I’ll correct that. I’ll promise you this, if a policeman acts inappropriately, we’ll take action.’
He said the cameras do have their limitations as they don’t necessarily take all facts and factors into account on the scene.
‘The camera only records what’s really going on, it doesn’t record perspective,’ he said. ‘If we are called into question, hopefully the evidence will play in the department’s favor.’
Officials of one police department that recently employed the body cams department-wide say they are beginning to feel comfortable with – and see benefits of – the new technology. Oberlin police Lt. Mike McCloskey said there was some initial skepticism from officers when the cameras were first implemented in early November. For instance, there were incidents where officers forgot to turn their cameras on or off.
However since then, and despite the learning curve, McCloskey said officers have become accustomed to the technology and consider it to be reliable.
‘I think officers have accepted it and have started to take to it as a tool to help them in their jobs,’ McCloskey said. ‘We’ve seen nothing but benefits from it.’
He said most of the 339 files that have come back from the cameras since November have been ‘basic mundane footage’ of routine traffic stops. McCloskey said the police department has not had any incidents in regards to complaints against officers or any other critical incidents that necessitated in-depth review.
By the same token, McCloskey said the footage has proven to be of evidentiary value for court purposes in regards to conversations between police and civilians.
Oberlin police Sgt. Patrick Durica admitted he was a bit hesitant about using his camera in the beginning, but his mindset has changed with time.
‘Like most officers, I was a little resistant to the idea at first – just a feeling that we need to be watched or monitored,’ Durica said. ‘But we’ve had a few instances I’ve been involved in … (where) it was a good piece of mind to have the equipment. That way, it’s not my word versus the defendant’s word.’
Durica and McCloskey cited a recent example of this interaction. In November, police were called to Mercy Allen Hospital about an intoxicated college student who allegedly assaulted hospital staff. When police attempted to arrest the male, he broke free of officers, attempted to run and sustained a facial injury in the process.
‘That’s the kind of situation where you have someone who’s intoxicated and could possible come back and explain that the police department acted inappropriately,’ McCloskey said.
‘Being able to go back and review video shows clearly their injury was caused by their own doing. Officers on scene all had body cams; we had at least two perspectives of the same incident.’
McCloskey said he believes at a time where the public’s question of police’s actions continues to grow, these devices could serve as an impartial third party.
‘I think times are definitely changing, and I think body-worn cameras for police are becoming a trend in law enforcement, particularly after these highly public incidents,’ he said of the recent fatal police shootings. ‘I think it will, in the long run, enhance public trust of police and be a benefit.’
Fostering that trust with the public and enhancing community partnerships, he added, is an integral part of the department’s mission.
‘The police department is part of the community we serve, and we have to work together to make the community safe and trust is a big part of that,’ he said. ‘And these cameras create a feeling of transparency that we’re not out to hide anything.’
