SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Police chief: Toll camera footage necessary to solve crimes
Jan 25, 2019, 7:30 AM | Updated: 10:46 am
Pierce County is one of the five most at-risk of moving back to Phase 2. (WSDOT)
(WSDOT)
A local police chief says that to keep people safe, it is necessary for law enforcement to have access to toll camera footage — and it’s a privilege that they could soon win in the Legislature.
House Bill 1229, introduced on Jan. 17, would give law enforcement access to footage from cameras on all tolled thoroughfares — the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, the State Route 520 bridge, the future Seattle Tunnel, and the toll lanes of I-405 and SR 167.
“What we’re looking for here is to obtain specific vehicle information in specific circumstances — say investigation of crimes or, say, missing persons — with a lawfully-executed search warrant,” Gig Harbor Police Chief Kelly Busey said.
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It’s no different than using a search warrant to search someone’s phone or bank records in a fraud investigation, Busey said. He added that his officers use search warrants regularly, sometimes on a daily basis.
According to RCW 10.79, a search warrant must
- be filed in good faith
- be based on reliable information that shows probable cause
- be signed by a neutral magistrate or judge
- state specifically the places to be searched and the items to be seized
The information taken from a toll camera could be the vital missing link in solving many crimes, in Busey’s opinion.
For example, if a suspect’s vehicle crossed the bridge at a certain time, it may help tie a suspect to the time and place that a murder or assault was committed.
“How am I going to explain to the victim’s family, ‘Yeah, I might be able to solve this crime, but I can’t get a piece of information from the state that’s there?'” Busey asked.
It could also be used to locate a car carrying an abducted child in AMBER Alert cases.
“I want to know how I can explain to the parents that data that is issued and used to file traffic tickets — civil infractions for toll violations — can’t be used to find their missing child,” he said.
Critics of the bill say that it expands the government access to people’s personal data, and provides the possibility of law enforcement combing through this information.
But Busey said that any such “witch hunt” is entirely inaccurate.
“That is absolutely not the intent — I don’t have the time or interest to do any of that,” Busey stressed. “I’m just looking to try to solve serious crimes.”
