Silent witness: Cameras worn on body give police new evidence tool

By Sophia Voravong
Journal & Courier

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — When a Tippecanoe County sheriff’s deputy turns on the lights and sirens in his marked squad car, it activates a dashboard camera to start recording.

Small microphones on deputies’ uniforms ensure that audio — on a traffic stop, for instance — is captured as well, Sheriff Tracy Brown said.

The recordings can serve as crucial evidence against a defendant in court or to hold an officer accountable for allegations of misconduct. A silent witness, of sorts.
But what about police calls that don’t take place anywhere near a squad car’s camera? More U.S. law enforcement agencies, large and small, are resolving that by experimenting with ones that easily can be clipped onto a shirt placket — providing an officer’s-eye view.

Brown said he’s looking at portable cameras for deputies to wear or carry for “in-the-field” work. In West Lafayette, department-owned, body-worn cameras are used for training, but some officers have purchased their own for routine patrol, according to Lt. John Watson.

And just south of here, at the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department, all 21 sworn deputies have one for daily, standard wear.

“It’s all to their discretion, but we encourage them to use it for anything questionable, like domestic disputes,” Chief Deputy Ryan Needham told the Journal & Courier. “They’ve been a very big asset for us. Once something’s caught on camera, you can’t really dispute that.

“When a case goes to court, there’s always a question of how ‘this’ or how ‘that’ happened. . It’s nice to have video proof of what a defendant previously admitted to or denied.”
Some background on Indiana’s stake in the issue: In 2009, by a 3-2 vote, the Indiana Supreme Court issued a new rule requiring suspect interrogations done in a place of detention — jails and police stations — be audio and video recorded electronically in felony cases.

Otherwise, those interrogations cannot be entered as evidence in court.

The rule took effect in January 2011.

“Frankly, most agencies were already doing it,” Brown, the Tippecanoe County sheriff, said.

But that started police administrators thinking about other advantages that cameras can have, Montgomery County Sheriff Mark Casteel said. Needham purchased the department’s cameras this past January for $77 apiece, or slightly more than $1,600 total.

The cameras do not constantly record, but they’re easily turned on, he said.

“We don’t have the funds to put a video camera in every squad car,” Needham said. “Deputies can use these for traffic stops, and they go into the house as well.”
While beneficial, body-worn cameras aren’t perfect.

West Lafayette’s Watson purchased three for $100 apiece a few years for training purposes — for instance, in staged “battles” with a suspect and an officer.
“You put one on the ‘good guy’ and one on the ‘bad guy,’ “ and afterward you can see what you did well and what can be done better,” Watson said.
Another benefit is that they easily plug into a computer and download quickly via USB cable.

But the cameras’ view angle-wise is limited; they don’t adjust quickly when going from somewhere well-lit to dark; and they don’t hold much, Watson said.
West Lafayette police Chief Jason Dombkowski said the department has not discussed purchasing body-worn cameras for all officers for routine patrol.
With squad-car cameras, the control is standard across-the-board: turn on lights and sirens, and a recording begins. A lack of similar control with body-worn cameras has Dombkowski hesitant for now.

The Lafayette Police Department is not using body-worn cameras, either, but Chief Don Roush said he’s watching how they’re being used by other agencies. He said he would not be surprised if they become a standard part of officers’ uniforms.

“People expect so much now from technology, and they see technology in use everywhere.”