Police: Response to body cameras “overwhelmingly good”

Body camera technology is advancing so rapidly that the day will come when a law enforcement officer’s camera will turn on any time they turn on lights and sirens.

Or pull their gun or Taser.

Or hear a gunshot or the sound of someone screaming.

For now, however, Wichita police officers have been taught to manually turn on their body cameras any time they get out of their patrol cars, Wichita police Capt. Brian White said Wednesday. Instructors have emphasized that step, wanting it to become as much a muscle memory move as turning on their police radio.

The last round of body camera training wrapped up about a week ago, said White, commander of the Patrol North and project manager for the deployment of body cameras to all on-duty police officers.

A total of 429 cameras have been issued to officers, he said.

“The officers are excited about getting the new technology,” White said, adding that the response has been “overwhelmingly good.”

Wichita police officials had set a goal of outfitting every field officer with a body camera by the end of 2015 in response to public meetings held in the wake of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014.

A delay in the arrival of federal funding to help pay for those cameras prevented that goal from being met, though those funds were finally released to the city earlier this year.

Training of the first officers to use the cameras began last October. White said he doesn’t have data yet on how many people have filed complaints against officers and later reviewed video of the incidents.

One camera doesn’t answer all questions, he said, but “it helps paint a more clear picture of what happened.”

There have been complaints about officer conduct since the cameras have been in use, White said, though he does not have data on how many yet. If someone has a question or concern about how a traffic stop or other interaction with an officer was handled, he urged residents to “come in and talk to us about it.”

“The good news is you’re able to resolve them,” he said of the complaints.

This story was originally published July 20, 2016 at 9:58 AM with the headline "Police: Response to body cameras “overwhelmingly good”."