Fresno law enforcement cameras and reporting use of force

Thursday Fresno’s city council approved the purchase and use of 400 body cameras for the city’s police officers. Fresno’s police chief says he’s focused on the transparency of law enforcement and he’s working on new protocol for documenting any use of force situations.

In addition to the body cameras at the Fresno Police Department deputies at the Fresno Sheriff’s Officer are already using Tasers with built in cameras. They are designed to record video evidence of when a Taser is deployed.

A bill that would change the way many law enforcement agencies operate is making its way through the state legislature. The bill would outline a universal policy for documenting when force is used by officers. Fresno’s police chief says it’s something he’s already working on.

A camera providing a first person view will be attached to every Fresno police officer by the end of this year.

"I believe the officers who come on the department from this point forward will not know any different," said Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer.

At the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office the Tasers have cameras. They take video when the safety switch is toggled.

"The camera is located on the bottom of the handle where typically you’d find the battery," said Robert Buenrostro of the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office "it’s very important because it records not all, but in part the incident or the situation we are involved as peace officers. You don’t hear too many people contesting the charges because of the video."

Fresno’s police chief says he’s working with police leaders across the country to develop a universal policy for reporting use of force.

"One of the frustrations on a national level is there is no established data base where someone can go and look at and see how many officer involved shootings there have been, or how many in custody deaths there are at the hands of a police officer," said Chief Dyer.

This technology documenting interactions between the public and law enforcement sets a new transparency standard. For better, or worse.

"When an officer doesn’t have time to activate the camera, or the camera malfunctions, there is going to be accusations that we are covering up, or the officer did something to taint the investigation we know that, but we’re trying to do the right thing for the right reasons," said Chief Dyer.

The bill that would require a standardized system for reporting when force is used by law enforcement will go before our state lawmakers by the end of the week.