Following the lead of other police agencies in the county, the National City Police Department will arm its officers with body-worn cameras sometime in the next year, said Police Chief Manuel Rodriguez.
Rodriguez expects to outfit about 50 of the police force’s 82 officers with cameras before next spring.
Officers working behind the desk will not wear cameras.
“(The cameras are) mainly for patrol officers who are likely to be involved in deadly force or if they do actual enforcement,” he said.
Six National City officers tested cameras from three different manufactures for several months on a trial run to decide which brand of cameras was the most suitable for the department, ultimately selecting Taser cameras, which has become the popular choice for police departments across the United States.
Rodriguez said he liked Taser not just for its hardware but also for its easy storage capability and its availability to access footage.
Rodriguez said he also preferred Taser because their cameras don’t allow officers to manipulate the data.
“We want to make sure that we continue to have trust with the community” he said. “And one way to do that is having it where officers cannot manipulate the video.”
Rodriguez said before the cameras can be rolled out, his department needs to find funding sources and also needs to draft policy on body camera usage. The cameras and storage cost about $90,000 annually. Rodriguez said he is seeking funding through grants in combination with the city of National City footing some of the costs.
The police chief said there are many positives with placing officers with body-worn cameras, including reduction of the number of complaints against officers. The footage collected serves as evidence and no longer makes complaints against officers hearsay, he said.
Rodriguez acknowledges that there is a downside with officers using camera footage for evidence.
“Sometimes we think the video is the end all,” he said. “And sometimes it only captures part of what is going on. It’s not always a true picture.”
The American Civil Liberties Union supports the use of body- worn cameras, if used appropriately.
“In general, the ACLU’s position on body cameras is that they can be a win-win for both the public and law enforcement,” said Kellen Russoniello, staff attorney with the ACLU. “But that’s only going to happen if they are deployed alongside a policy that guarantees protection for public accountability, transparency and privacy.”
Russoniello said he doesn’t want the body cameras to be used solely as a tool for law enforcement purposes, but to also use the cameras in a way that police can be held accountable when there are transgressions.
Implementation of body-worn cameras is a recent nationwide trend with police departments. The Chula Vista Police Department this year equipped more than 100 patrol officers with a Taser camera. And recently CVPD got approval to add more cameras to their arsenal.
Last year the San Diego Police Department incorporated cameras for its patrol officers.
Rodriguez said he’s sought feedback from both CVPD and SDPD in regard to policymaking and body camera usage.
“This thing (body-worn cameras) is starting to be an industry standard,” he said. “So I think if you don’t have them then it puts you at a disadvantage. It increases your civil liability.”
