MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Tukwila PD may have answered the ultimate body-cam question

Nov 1, 2017, 12:54 PM

Tukwila...

(Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via AP)

(Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via AP)

There’s concern that even if police wear body cameras they may not operate them properly or unintentionally forget to turn them on.

From ‘Cops’ to body cams: Can filming affect police behavior?

For example, The Washington Post reports that more than one-third of the cases an oversight board in D.C. investigated found that officers did not use their body cams as intended. The Post reports that officers either turned the cameras on late or too early; in 13 percent of the cases, at least one officer involved failed to use them at all.

“Law enforcement is trying to do the right thing,” Peter Newsham, interim chief of the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department, told CBS earlier this year. “For our department in particular, for them to embrace this body-worn camera program that we have says to me that my folks feel like they’re doing the right thing almost all the time and they want everybody to see it.”

But trying is different than doing. That’s where the Tukwila Police Department comes in.

On Wednesday, the department announced that all uniformed officers and personnel “that are regularly out and about working with the public” are using body cameras that activate on their own. When an officer turns on his or her light bar, for example, the vehicle’s dash cam and officer’s body cam begin recording, according to the department. Body cams also begin record as soon as an officer pulls out one of the department’s new stun guns.

“This new technology will allow us to record video and audio of incidents from multiple cameras as every officer is now deploying with a camera on his/her person as well as a dash camera in their patrol vehicle,” the department said in a statement.

The department began a body-cam pilot program last June with five officers. Now more than 70 have been equipped with the technology.

Of course, the “three-prong” approach to recording may still have holes. For example, in the list of benefits of the equipment, all made by Axon, there is no mention of being able to link firearms to the cameras.

MyNorthwest News

Photo: Lewis and Clark High School students thought quickly to save their track coach's life....

Julia Dallas

Spokane high school students save track coach’s life after his heart stops

Two Spokane high school students used their quick thinking and past training to save their track coach's life last week.

1 hour ago

Image: Brightly colored eggs are set on a table on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington,...

Ted Buehner

Expect good Easter weekend weather for egg hunts, chilly evening Mariners games

Both Saturday and Sunday of Easter weekend will feature temperatures warming to around 60 degrees across much of Western Washington.

13 hours ago

Taylor Swift performs onstage during the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour at Lumen Field on July 22, 20...

Micki Gamez, KIRO Newsradio and Bill Kaczaraba, MyNorthwest

Seattle tourism dollars break records following All-Star Week, Taylor Swift

It was a record-setting year for dollars flowing into Seattle from tourists.

15 hours ago

Image: A bridge in Carnation....

Julia Dallas

Carnation frustrated with Seattle again after 8th false emergency alarm induces widespread panic

Carnation citizens have faced a series of panic-inducing alarms after SPU's system for the Tolt Dam falsely sounded eight times.

16 hours ago

Grocery store shopper...

Bill Kaczaraba

Ways to deal with Seattle grocery store sticker shock

Seattle grocery store sticker shock continues to play havoc on locals, but there are ways to counter high prices.

16 hours ago

belltown hellcat social media...

Frank Sumrall

Infamous ‘Belltown Hellcat’ social media influencer charged with reckless driving

The social media influencer has been accused of driving 107 miles per hour through Belltown in a Dodge Hellcat.

17 hours ago

Tukwila PD may have answered the ultimate body-cam question