All Brooklyn Park police will be required to wear body cameras, if approved by the Brooklyn Park City Council. There has been public demand for body cameras to create more transparency, but there are unanswered questions surrounding their use.
Brooklyn Park Police Chief Craig Enevoldsen updated the city council this week with research on a recent body camera pilot program. The trial study, which ran from September through November, involved 16 Brooklyn Park officers.
The chief says two months are not enough to determine if the program is effective, but they did gather some interesting findings. There were two use of force incidents during the pilot program. For the two months prior, there were seven incidents. Nationally, public complaints went down against police who used body cameras, the study found.
Concerns with body cams
While most of the officers who participated in the program like the idea of wearing the gear, they found some challenges. Officials say the viewpoint is limited right now and doesn't capture the entire scene.
"Depending on how tall the officer was or where the officer put the body camera on them, either we were capturing the face and missing a lot of hands and things," said Enevoldsen.
Enevoldsen says new cameras available in March will provide a greater viewpoint, though it will not solve all vantage point issues.
Another concern is whether school resource police officers should wear body cameras. Some parents worry about privacy issues. The Brooklyn Park Police Department is meeting with Osseo and Anoka-Hennepin officials to determine guidelines. When the program gets underway, school resource officers will not wear body cameras until a decision can be made about privacy issues in schools.
Yet another question is how long body camera data would be preserved. Chief Enevoldsen would like to store the video for at least six years.
"We can't come under litigation after six years. So what we found with squad video and other things it's been very beneficial in civil litigation," said Chief Enevoldsen.
The chief will go back to the city council Feb. 8 for approval of the body cameras. He hopes to implement the program Feb. 15.
Sonya Goins, reporting
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