Colo. police set to move forward grant-funded with body-worn camera program

By Chhun Sun
The Gazette

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — In late 2013, the Colorado Springs Police Department began considering the use of body-worn cameras.

Then came Aug. 8, 2014, when unarmed teenager Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo. Witness accounts differed from what the officer said happened. The shooting had an effect on Colorado Springs police, who were encouraged to push the camera program forward.

The department now is close to making a big step in the process - choosing among four camera types. A decision is expected this month. By April, 50 to 100 officers will be equipped with cameras. All 471 officers are expected to have the cameras by October.

"It's taking so long because we're trying to be thoughtful on how we do it," said Cmdr. James Rigdon, who supervised a nine-month pilot program that ended in June.

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The department expects to complete a body-worn camera policy by the end of February. The focus will center on such issues as when the camera will be activated, if officers should watch the video following a use of force incident and if the public is allowed access to footage.

"But it even gets more complicated," Rigdon said, "because we have sensitive situations where we have victims, and do we want our officers filming victims? We don't want to make the victims feel uncomfortable so we have a lot of things to weigh there."

Last fall, Colorado Springs police received a $600,000 grant from the Department of Justice to assist in purchasing 500 cameras, which the law enforcement agency had to match to cover the cost of the program for the first two years.

In an interview with The Gazette in December, police Chief Peter Carey said, "We spent a better part of (last year) researching it, concluding a pilot project and securing some federal grant funding for (the body-worn cameras program), and I think that's going to pay dividends in 2016."

The department has asked for input through surveys and forum discussions. A recurring topic: At what point should the camera be turned on?

Last year, an officer-involved shooting in Fountain resulted in the death of an armed 17-year-old. The District Attorney's Office ruled the shooting justified. Police chief Chris Heberer said the officer did not have his camera on.

"There's always going to be a case where an officer stumbles across something immediately in front of them and they may not be able to get that camera turned on," Rigdon said. "One thing that we stress is that we're not going to ask the officers to endanger their life by stopping or telling people, 'Hey, I gotta turn my camera on,' when a person is pointing a gun at them or something like that."

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