Chula Vista police officer Marshall Gillon’s last call of the day on a recent Monday afternoon was for a domestic violence incident between a husband and wife in a quiet apartment complex on the west side of the city.
Upon arriving at the scene, Gillon interviewed the victim in her broken English.
He took notes and wrote down her official statement of abuse. He also documented a bruise for evidence that she had suffered on one of her arms.
But before the officer gathered all the details, he double tapped his chest-mounted camera and informed the victim that he may be recording her.
“I’m Officer Marshall Gillon with the Chula Vista Police Department, I am wearing a camera today,” he said in his introduction.
The victim appeared to notice the camera, then proceeded with her statements.
When the camera is turned on, a red off light turns green and, every few minutes, the camera makes a beeping sound so the person being recorded is aware the camera is on and recording.
The instant the record button is pushed, the camera rolls back 30 seconds and keeps that footage without audio then continues rolling forward to real-time with audio.
Once Gillon is done recording, he holds down the record button for two to three seconds to turn off the camera.
Gillon uses an app on his iPhone that allows him to view what the camera is capturing. The application also lets him view stored recordings from the day as he labels the videos with an incident number and information regarding the situation and enforcement.
The footage is then stored in a database for review. Depending on the type of crime, a video can be stored for more than 90 days.
The domestic violence call was just one of several instances that day in which Gillon used his body-worn camera.
Other incidents included traffic stops and homeless loitering.
Last year the Chula Vista Police Department purchased 114 new Taser body cameras for about $71,720 to outfit its patrol unit.
The department also entered into a five-year contract with Evidence.com, cloud-based storage software. Total costs for the equipment and storage is about $501,294, Capt. Vern Salle previously said.
Gillon, a 16-year veteran of the CVPD, has been outfitted with the camera for about three months. He opted to use the chest-mounted camera instead of one of the 10 cameras that are mounted on eyeglasses.
“We turn on our video cameras when we are to take some type of enforcement action,” he said about incidents in which he turns on his camera. “So if a citizen where to come up and say ‘Hey, can I get directions to here?’ We wouldn’t be required to turn on our cameras.”
Gillon used his discretion with an incident that took place at a physical therapy center where a person had reportedly walked into the business with a can of beer in his hand and verbally harassed patients.
Because of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, Gillon said he did not record any conversations or circumstances inside the physical therapy center.
“So we have patients who are coming here for physical therapy,” he said. “It’s their confidential right whether they want to tell someone they’re going through physical therapy or something of that nature.”
He said the department’s policy says minors who are victims of molestation or sexual abuse should not be recorded, but their statements may be captured with an audio recorder.
Body-worn cameras on officers have been the subject of controversy throughout the nation.
Gillon said he is happy to be outfitted with a body-worn camera because it holds officers and the public accountable for their actions.
“I am a big supporter of the camera for the simple fact it’s recording what’s there, so it’s not like you can make things up or change things,” he said. “It’s exactly what the citizens’ actions were, it’s exactly what law enforcement’s actions were, and there is no way to manipulate it or put your perception on it.”
He said the cameras make his job easier because he doesn’t have to worry about citizens’ falsifying allegations against him.
