Turning it off is just as important as turning it on.
“I didn’t know it was on” may become just as much of a cliché as “I didn’t know it was loaded.”
The second is the standard excuse for a negligent discharge. The first is the standard excuse for leaving the digital incar video system (DICVS) camera and/or microphone on.
Turning the system on is tightly controlled by Special Order 45 of 2009, which states that it will be activated on all vehicle stops, all pedestrian stops, all pursuits and all suspect transports. Be assured that the Department is extremely interested in whether or not you are following this special order. There is at least one ordered Board of Rights pending over allegations of violating this order. Audits are done every day to make sure you are complying. There is even an unstated inference by some in management positions that if you did not turn on the system (in violation of the special order), you must have been intending mischief.
Activating the system does have many advantages. First of all, it can be powerful evidence against a criminal suspect. Second, it may exonerate you in a personnel complaint investigation. Third, it can help you write an accurate report, or help you give an accurate interview to Internal Affairs. These are all benefits of using this system as a tool to help you do your job. But a tool requires care in its use. An axe can help you build a house, but it can also chop off your foot if used carelessly. Your gun is a tool that can save your life, but you can also shoot yourself or your partner if you do not know how to handle it properly. The same is true of the DICVS.
What has been happening (along with officers getting in trouble for not turning it on) is officers are getting in trouble for not turning it off. Well, not exactly. It is for saying things that were not intended to be recorded when the system was not turned off. For instance, police gallows humor does not play well on YouTube.
The special order tells you that “once the DICVS is activated, the front camera shall remain activated until the entire incident or field contact has stabilized or the contact has ended. The rear camera shall remain activated until the suspect (rear passenger) has exited the vehicle.” Be sure to do it!
It is especially important to remember to turn the system off when a high-stress situation stabilizes. It is during the highstress situations, such as officer-involved shootings, pursuits and categorical uses of force, that psychological-stress-relieving behavior is likely to occur. Many times this behavior is not thought out, and it is seldom understood by the public (read: jury). Remember, discovery will eventually be given to arrestees and plaintiffs who subsequently sue you and the Department. High-fives reflecting joy in your and your partner’s good fortune of being alive after a shooting will be portrayed as a primitive victory dance over a kill by the time it hits the press.
The camera isn’t the only problem. There have been times when after an incident, an officer does not turn the system off and walks around with a hot microphone on his belt recording every conversation occurring within several yards of his path. An imaginative attorney can always find something on that tape to spin into a conspiracy theory in front of the jury. Furthermore, Internal Affairs may find a few allegations of improper remarks buried in there somewhere, too. Tactical language has a way of lasting longer than the tactical situation.
There is a rumor that the Department is going to require first-responding supervisors to officer-involved shootings to activate their DICVS to record shooting officers’ Public Safety Statements. If true, this is institutional insanity. Plaintiffs’ attorneys and anti-police groups will declare a holiday. The only thing that is sure about the first report off the battlefield is that it will be wrong. Every mistake and inaccuracy will be portrayed as a lie by those with an agenda. Unfortunately, when political winds are blowing, the Department may be the one to fear most.
When properly used, the DICVS can be a valuable tool to enforce the law and to protect yourself from false personnel complaints. However, the Department, through excessive disciplinary action against officers in connection with the camera, can convince officers that this is an Internal Affairs tool, not a crime-fighting tool. As a result, what should be embraced will be shunned. That would be a shame. If every pedestrian stop carries an undue risk of “failures” being recorded against an officer because of the DICVS, there will be fewer pedestrian stops. If officers are reluctant to turn on their red lights because of the criticism they risk every time the camera is activated, there will be fewer vehicle stops. If the risk to the officer outweighs the benefit, the DICVS will become just another wasted asset. The Department should hear warning bells.
In the meantime, to stay out of trouble, know when to turn it off, as well as when to turn it on. Check for those little red lights on your fellow officers’ belts before you start making jokes and talking trash. Internal Affairs does not have a sense of humor.
Be legally careful out there
