Mishawaka cops buy their own body cameras

For Brian Long, a patrolman with the Mishawaka Police Department, wearing a body camera gives him peace of mind. It's something to reaffirm what he already knows -- that he's doing his job well.

So he spent $300 to buy his own camera.

Under a new policy for Mishawaka police that went into effect last week, officers can wear body cameras if they purchase the equipment themselves. The city and police department discussed the issue for a year to work out guidelines, including how the recordings would be stored and handled.

Long was one of the first in the department to purchase a camera. Until the city has the money to equip the entire department with the cameras, he said, he supports the buy-your-own policy.

"It's an obvious financial cost, but it's a good insurance policy," Long said.

The camera is useful for gathering evidence, he said, but it's also a way to establish trust with the community for the majority of officers who do their job well. And it's a safety net if an officer needs to prove he or she was in the right.

Because of the cost of the equipment, Mishawaka never planned to purchase body cameras for the entire department,  said Jason Stefaniak, uniform division chief.

About a year ago, though, officers began asking if they could personally buy them.

Now, about 10 Mishawaka officers have their own body cameras and about a dozen more are considering buying them, Stefaniak said.

The new department policy sets guidelines, such as when and where officers can record, and how the recordings are to be used and processed. There is no specific model that is required, but all cameras must be approved by the department, Stefaniak said.

And foremost, he said, the footage needs to be capable of being downloaded and stored on a disk.

Although the camera is the personal property of the officer, according to the policy, all recordings are the property of the Mishawaka Police Department and are handled in the same way as video from dashboard cameras equipped in police vehicles.

As with dash-cam footage, citizens can make public records requests to view body camera footage.

Stefaniak said the department has already seen a benefit from the cameras.

A few officers were equipped with cameras at times this past year to test different models, and some of the footage has helped with cases.

"We haven't seen anything negative come out of these," Stefaniak said. "It has helped us."

Elkhart changes course

Just as Mishawaka officers have started using body cameras, the Elkhart Police Department has suspended the use of its body cameras.

Elkhart Mayor Tim Neese and Police Chief Ed Windbigler announced Monday that the city was doing away with body cameras --  for now -- because of frequent technical problems. Elkhart purchased 80 cameras in 2015 for $100,000.

Portable radios were making the cameras malfunction, batteries were lasting only a couple of hours and wires were becoming disconnected, said Sgt. Chris Snyder, a spokesman for the police department.

About 20 of the 80 body cameras issued to Elkhart police were shipped back to the manufacturer, Digital Ally, for repairs. Elkhart also purchased its dashboard cameras from Digital Ally but has not had frequent technical problems with that equipment.

The city and police department are looking for a solution, Snyder said, whether it's staying with Digital Ally and fixing the cameras or finding a new company.

Elkhart County police issued a statement earlier this week saying although they initially had some problems with their body cameras after they were purchased in 2014, the department was able to work with the manufacturer, as well as better train those using the equipment. Now, the release says, the cameras are a reliable tool.

South Bend and St. Joseph County police will likely not equip officers with body cameras anytime soon.

South Bend officers have been testing different types of cameras in the field and have found many of the same problems as Elkhart, said Lt. Gene Eyster, a spokesman for South Bend police.

Beyond the technical problems and the high cost of the equipment and storage, one of the biggest worries is about privacy.

"There are concerns about how much information would be available to the public," said Bill Thompson, assistant chief for the St. Joseph County Police Department.

Officers see many private citizens in situations that would be embarrassing if footage from a body camera became public, he said. The department doesn't want to be required to release footage to someone who wants the video for the wrong reason, such as to post on social media to embarrass someone.

The Mishawaka Police Department's policy details when and where officers should not record. Anywhere a person has a "reasonable expectation of privacy," like at someone's home, the cameras should not be used, according to the policy, unless the officer is acting on a search or arrest warrant.

Officers are also not allowed to record in hospitals or other medical facilities and are not allowed to record patients during medical or psychological evaluations or treatment, according to the policy. They're also required to explain in their written report the reason for not recording in a situation, or say on camera the reason before turning the device off.

With the privacy measures stated in Mishawaka's policy, an individual officer's discretion is critical, said Rick Seniff, an instructor of criminal justice at Indiana University South Bend and a former St. Joseph County police officer.

And with body cameras being a fairly new technology, Seniff said, proper training of officers is important.

"I don't know if there's any perfect solution," Seniff said. "It's still new and there's going to be a learning curve."

lwright@SBTinfo.com

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