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NYPD To Make Body Camera Footage Slightly Less Hard For Public To Come By
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jun 16, 2020
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Gwynne Hogan / Gothamist
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jun 16, 2020
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In yet another effort aimed to "help to build trust between the people and the NYPD," Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Tuesday that the police department would be required to turn over certain body camera footage within 30 days and make it publicly available online.
"We recognize the power of body worn cameras, but body worn cameras are only as powerful as the transparency that comes with them," de Blasio said.
Tuesday's announcement only applies to footage gathered in three circumstances: if an NYPD officer discharges his firearm, if an NYPD officer discharges his Taser, or if an NYPD officer uses force that results in death or "great bodily harm."
According to a City Hall spokesperson, the NYPD will retain the ability to edit the footage.
If that policy change seems less than transformative, consider the previous policy, issued seven months ago without fanfare: the NYPD would have 30 days to consider releasing body worn camera footage, and they were under no obligation to release it.
Michael Sisitzky, lead policy counsel at the New York Civil Liberties Union, said that while this is an improvement over the old protocol, "it's not enough."
"This is still a process where the NYPD retains too much control and discretion, and that's true of the body camera program overall."
Sisitzky pointed out that most of, if not all of the incidents of police brutality captured on camera that prompted multiple investigations of the NYPD, would not fall under de Blasio's new guidelines for the department to release the footage.
"Those are all incidents where the public should know and should have access to records of officers who are engaging in that level of violence and misconduct toward the public," Sisitzky said. "This is a program where we have heard repeatedly of incidents, including at the protests, of officers not even turning their cameras on in the first place."
A federal judge ordered the NYPD to create a body camera program in 2014 following the stop-and-frisk verdict. The rollout was slow, and it wasn't until March of 2019 that the NYPD had equipped all 20,000 patrol officers with cameras. Officers are supposed to turn their cameras on as soon as they begin engaging with the public. Requests for footage of questionable police encounters captured by body cameras have been routinely denied by the NYPD for privacy or investigatory reasons.
The mayor's announcement does nothing to address the slow and gnarled process of how the NYPD turns over body camera footage to the Civilian Complaint Review Board to review cases of misconduct, and does not require the NYPD to make its own use of body camera footage more transparent to the public.
"I think with the repeal of 50-A, this is a moment for the police department to step up and release information on what steps they are taking to investigate and hold officers accountable," Sisitzky added.
[UPDATE / 3:37 p.m.] After the mayor's announcement, the NYPD released body camera footage of an incident in which an NYPD officer pepper sprayed a group of protesters on May 29.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea also released this statement:
Today I have an update on a troubling incident involving a member of the department that occurred during recent demonstration activity. We are sharing an update as part of our efforts at greater transparency. On June 1, 2020 in Manhattan, an officer discharged mace at a group of bystanders. IAB conducted an investigation and this Probationary Police Officer has been suspended without pay. This case has been referred to the Department Advocate for disciplinary action. There are other matters that we are actively investigating and we will continue to be transparent as the process continues. Trust is critical to effective policing. Trust takes a long time to earn and it is very easy to lose. We will continue to work relentlessly to earn and keep that trust because without community partnership, we cannot effectively do our jobs.
Here's the video the NYPD released:
Tagged
police reform
police transparency
nypd
body cameras
bill de blasio
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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