Des Moines, Cedar Rapids police roll out body cameras, but public access will be much different

Two of Iowa's largest law enforcement departments are outfitting their patrol officers with body cameras that record almost all their interactions with the public.

Des Moines and Cedar Rapids announced Tuesday they will be deploying hundreds of body cameras in the coming months to record a host of situations, including arrests, traffic stops, crowd control, incidents requiring force, vehicle pursuits and searches of suspects.

But the two police departments have created vastly different policies governing whether those video recordings will be public record and whether officers must tell citizens they are being recorded.

• Des Moines' policy acknowledges that Iowa's open records law may require the release of body camera video, but it lays out exceptions to such as an ongoing investigation that could keep the footage confidential. The policy also states that officers "are not required to inform citizens of the presence of a body camera."
• Cedar Rapids' draft policy considers the video a "non-public investigative police report information" that only will be released with the police chief's approval. However, officers, "whenever possible" will tell public when they are being recorded.

The two departments join a handful of other Iowa law enforcement agencies that have adopted body cameras, all of which have different policies governing their use and availability to the public.

The resulting discordance highlights why Iowa needs statewide legislation that sets out one set of rules governing "the interaction" between the public records law and body camera footage, officials with the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa said.

"Our bottom line is a body-camera policy that balances government transparency and individual privacy, which is why we need a statewide bill," said Veronica Fowler, ACLU-Iowa spokeswoman.

Twenty-two states have passed legislation regarding public access to body camera footage, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C. Legislation has been proposed in 16 other states, including Iowa.

MORE ON BODY CAMERAS:

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• Pleasant Hill police get body cameras
• Iowa State's body-camera policy not open to public

The need for accountability

Des Moines is spending $1.6 million to outfit as many as 300 officers with body cameras by the end of March, using money from private donations, drug forfeitures and city funds.

The department selected the Texas-based WatchGuard body camera and in-car camera model, purchasing enough cameras so far to outfit the patrol division, said Sgt. Theodore Stroope, who is leading the effort.

"We hope that this will help reduce complaints and litigation," Sgt. Ryan Doty said. "We'll have an impartial witness to everything that goes on, all interactions with officers and citizens now."

Tuesday marked the 10th day that Des Moines traffic Officer Steve Walters wore his body camera. He decided to attach it to his belt and tilt the lens up so the recordings capture individuals as he's walking up to a vehicle. Both body and dash camera activate automatically with his squad car lights.

"I think everybody is comfortable with them," Walters said. "Now that I've carried it long enough, I can say nothing changed about how I interact with people." 

Nationwide, an increasing number of law enforcement agencies are equipping officers with body cameras as a way to increase accountability and ease concerns about officer misconduct. However, no Iowa agency tracks how many of the state's more than 350 law enforcement agencies use the devices.

Some officers, including those in Burlington, Clive, Iowa City, Urbandale and Waukee have worn cameras for one or more years.

Cedar Rapids police will begin wearing body cameras made by Panasonic within the coming weeks, which will work with the dash-cam devices used in patrol cars, a spokesman said.

The department's Police Community Action team — five officers that have the most frequent contact with the public — will be the first to wear the devices; patrol officers will be next, the spokesman said.

"This is a good thing for both officers and the community to ensure that the truth actually comes out," said Betty Andrews, president of the Iowa-Nebraska NAACP State Area Conference, which represents more than 30 local units. "We know that body cameras won't be able to completely solve all issues, but we do believe it's a step in the right direction.

"Overall, the community is going to feel safer."

Des Moines police officials have spent nearly two years planning how to equip patrol officers with body cameras. And they took nearly a year writing a five-page policies for their use.

Creating the rules

Most national law enforcement organizations such as The International Association of Chiefs of Police recommend agencies involve residents in the development of body camera policies.  

Both Des Moines and Cedar Rapids' police chiefs conferred with people in their communities as they developed policies governing the use of body cameras.

Cedar Rapids chief Wayne Jerman asked a community advisory board to review the policy; Des Moines Police Chief Dana Wingert shared draft policies with neighborhood groups, the NAACP and ACLU-Iowa. Des Moines police have said they will post the policy on the city's website.

Des Moines and Cedar Rapids' policies both allow officers to review footage from body cameras as they write their reports. The practice is followed by most agencies with body cameras, The Des Moines Register and other policy reviews have shown.

Des Moines' policy also states that a commanding officer "may restrict" viewing of footage by an officer involved in a critical incident such as a deadly shooting or serious injury until after the officer has given a formal statement. It adds that after viewing the video, the officer can provide a second formal statement.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a policy and lobbying organization for U.S. rights groups, disagrees with allowing officers to view video footage before writing any type of report.

"Body cameras don't capture the full perspective of what an officer saw or experienced," said Miranda Borgen of Upturn, a group that helped the rights groups analyze body camera policies from large U.S. police departments. "Getting the officer to provide an independent recollection of what occurred is important. … The video shows what happened in front of the camera; the officer's report tells what actually happened."

Striking a balance

While Des Moines and Cedar Rapids' police officers will be required to record most interactions, the policies also allow the cameras to be turned off when victims of sexual assaults or child abuse are being interviewed. Des Moines police will not be required to record when they are inside a medical facility, according to the policy.

The body cameras "are designed to calm interactions that potentially could turn volatile," Wingert said. "Yes, we will collect video. Yes, we will comply with the Open Records law.

"But keep in mind, we are not in the entertainment business. That's why there's discretion written into this policy in those sensitive areas to allow the officers to make that decision … about whether or not it should be recorded." 

Andrews of the NAACP raised questions about why Des Moines' policy did not address repercussions to officers who fail to record interactions with the public.

"We've heard a lot about officers who fail to turn on their cameras," she said. "There should be reprimands written in the policy for officers who fail to turn on their equipment in critical situations." 

A look at Des Moines' body cameras

Des Moines is buying a 6-ounce body camera model by WatchGuard, a Texas company, for its compatibilitybetween body and in-car dashboard cameras. The two devices "talk to each other" via a unique, secure Wi-Fi connection, Sgt. Theodore ​Stroope said.

The camera is constantly recording on a loop, indicated by a green light at the top of the unit. The difference is when the police officer hits a button on the side of the device, the camera is actively recording, indicated by a red light.

Des Moines' body cameras feature a "pre-event recording" capability, which means it can capture one minute of silent footage before an officer actually turns on the camera manually. And the new dash camera has GPS-tracking capabilities to follow the path of an officer wearing a body camera. It can even track an officer's speed.