New Haven Police Ready to Roll Out Body Worn Cameras in November

After the New Haven Board of Police Commissioners approved the General Orders for body camera use, officers in Elm City will start wearing them after training begins on November 1.

"This is the reality of where 21st century, especially 21st-century community policing, is leading all of us," New Haven Police Chief Anthony Campbell told NBC Connecticut on Thursday.

The department plans to roll out the cameras by training groups of 30 officers at a time. Eventually, every sworn member of the police force, including the chief and assistant chiefs, will wear them.

"We want to make sure that the officers are familiar with the technology, familiar with the General Orders and that they have the opportunity to fully understand what is expected of them," Assistant Chief Racheal Cain, who is responsible for administration, said.

Police Sgt. Rose Dell showed NBC Connecticut the docking station where patrol officers will pick up and charge their body cameras.

"If there’s a witness or a victim and they don’t want to be on camera, they can request the officer shut the camera off," Dell said of one of the legal guidelines officers will need to learn.

The president of the police officers’ union said there are benefits to wearing body cameras.

"It’s another part of equipment that will support the officer’s report of what truly happened," Elm City Local president Craig Miller said.

But Miller said he believes the Board of Police Commissioners rushed through reviewing the final copy of the General Orders.

"We just wanted to make sure they gave us a90-day window to get accustomed to using new equipment and they said no," Miller said. "So that they weren’t going to do it so we had a problem with it."

"What they were concerned with is they wanted to continue negotiating," Campbell said.

After more than two years of planning and testing, Campbell said now is the time for New Haven residents to begin seeing officers wearing the body cameras on their uniforms.

"Since that time, we’ve had three officer-involved shootings, we’ve had protests on the Green, we’ve had officers seriously injured hit run over etc.," Campbell said. "I think these body cameras would have been extremely helpful in getting information out to the public."

The police union is reviewing options with its attorney, Miller said.

This week the Board of Police Commissioners also approved new guidelines for officers’ department-issued cell phones. Police officers will be able to view the footage they capture on their body cameras on those phones.

The department has purchased more than 800 cameras so each of the more than 400 officers will have a “hot” one in the field and a "cold" one back at the police station charging.

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