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Judge Dismisses Request To Delay Implementing NYPD Body Camera Program
By
David Colon
Published Apr 22, 2017
Modified Apr 22, 2017
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By
David Colon
Published Apr 22, 2017
Modified Apr 22, 2017
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Just days after civil rights attorneys and community groups held a news conference announcing they were asking a judge to delay the start of the NYPD's body camera program, a judge dismissed the request on the grounds that it was premature.
According to the Times, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that the objections to the body camera program lodged by the Center for Constitutional Rights were premature, and that the program could go forward as planned. Judge Torres said that proposals governing the use of body camera, which federal monitor Peter Zimroth asked her to implement, were not finalized recommendations and that CCR's lawsuit had come too early. When the NYPD announced the rules governing body camera usage, a department spokesperson told the News the policies "may change down the road" the same way that patrol guide procedures get tweaked.
Representatives from the Center for Constitutional Rights could not be reached for comment, but Darius Charney, an attorney with the group who lodged the objection to the program's implementation told the paper "In this context, I don’t know what’s premature about it," and said the group would study the decision more closely before their next moe.
The NYPD told the Times "We are pleased with court’s ruling and look forward to the upcoming implementation of the body camera program."
At issue in the court challenge were a number of objections to how the NYPD would share the data from the body cameras and when officers would be required to record interactions. Lawyers from the CCR argued that "level one" encounters between police and citizens, in which officers stop citizens on the street for a basic question like their name or where they're going, should not have been excluded from being recorded since they can escalate quickly. CCR also objected to a rule that allowed police to see body camera footage before filling out paperwork but forced civilians to file Freedom of Information Law requests to see footage.
The program will begin on Monday with about 50 patrol officers in the NYPD's 34th Precinct, in Washington Heights and Inwood, wearing the cameras. Mayor de Blasio has said that his goal is to outfit ever patrol officer with a body camera by 2019.
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David Colon
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