Cape police view body cameras favorably after year of testing

The Cape Girardeau Police Department has been testing a few body cameras for a little more than a year in preparation for using them throughout the department.

The police chief and officers who use them think the cameras will assist with evidence collection and provide documentation on complaints.

Officers have used six models of cameras from varying companies, public information officer Adam Glueck wrote in an email. Officers wore at least one camera Saturday during the investigation of a burglary case.

Each officer who has worn a camera gives feedback to commanders, with a list of likes and dislikes, Glueck wrote.

Some of the cameras were given to the department for a trial phase, and two cameras were bought for testing purposes.

The department is grading potential cameras on price, storage, online support (mostly storage), ease of carry and use, and video and audio quality, Glueck wrote.

"The officers who have utilized them have been very pleased with them," Police Chief Wes Blair wrote in an email.

The department has requested funding from the city to buy cameras for all patrol and traffic officers. The city is considering that request along with other items in its capital-improvement plan.

City council members said cameras were a priority at their meeting Monday, but there are several items being considered for purchase under the proposed innovation fund, deputy city manager Molly Hood said Wednesday.

The city will have a public meeting to consider capital-improvement projects Feb. 20 and will take action March 6.

Cape Girardeau police are requesting 50 cameras and three years maintenance for a total cost of $54,000.

"The total will depend on availability of funding," Blair wrote. "We will outfit the patrol and traffic divisions. Having cameras will enhance (evidence) collection efforts because we will no longer have to rely solely on memory."

Glueck said body-camera footage has been submitted by officers as evidence.

Often when officers testify in court, they have reports available to check, especially with questions such as time and witness statements, but that can be contradicted by other witness statements.

"Body cameras will be very beneficial to the department in instances when there is discrepancy between an officer's perception of an incident and the perception of the citizen with whom they've had contact," Blair wrote.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Limbaugh said he supports footage from body cameras as another piece of evidence available for a prosecution.

"I believe the benefits are more clear in court when the suspect's actions can actually be observed," Glueck wrote. "They will also be helpful when investigating complaints on officers and may decrease false allegations on police officials."

Blair wrote the department is developing body-camera policies -- including when cameras should be operating and what recordings can be deleted -- to have in place when the purchase of cameras is approved by the city.

He hopes policies will mirror state laws about usage and retention of cameras and recordings and best practices from law-enforcement agencies across the country.

Glueck wrote the department increased its evidence server capacity to hold more video footage.

A law enacted by the Missouri Legislature closes body-camera footage as a public record during the course of an investigation.

The record remains closed if the recording occurred in homes, schools, medical facilities and other "non-public" places.

The law also contains several rules for all types of police recordings and when they can be released.

The U.S. Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services published a report on cameras in 2014. It quotes an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer stating officers should record every interaction with the public.

A police executive research forum representative also stated in the report there are certain situations that should not be recorded for privacy considerations. The representative said police should determine the retention of footage based on its type.

Law-enforcement agencies in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois that use body cameras use differing policies.

In the Perry County Sheriff's Office, videos are kept for about two weeks and deleted if not deemed pertinent to an investigation, according to Sheriff Gary Schaaf in a previous interview.

Scott County discards some videos after two weeks but could keep some footage for five years based on the severity of the crime, according to former sheriff's deputy Jerry Bledsoe in a previous interview.

Illinois law dictates all videos are kept for 90 days and then are discarded if they are not pertinent.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address: 40 S. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, MO