State College police are set to soon receive new body cams. But how transparent will they be?
State College’s entire police force should be outfitted with new body cams no later than October, and community members told the borough council Monday night they want some independent oversight of the incoming cams.
Lt. Greg Brauser offered a virtual slideshow presentation to the council Monday, where he explained that 65 quarter-sized body cams will arrive from WatchGuard sometime next month — at a cost of $67,365. (Half of that will be federally reimbursed.) It will then take another month, possibly two, for the necessary software upgrades and installation.
“It’s not just like you get an iPhone and you can start recording,” Brauser added.
At issue Monday, however, was just how much transparency the police department will offer with the new cams. State law, specifically Act 22, gives police broad discretion to deny requests to release footage — something both the ACLU and legislators have voiced concerns over.
Not only must the footage be requested by someone directly involved, but the request can also be denied if it contains potential evidence or pertains to an investigation, which accounts for many cases. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote in an editorial two weeks ago that “it’s next to impossible to obtain the video.”
Based on state law, the police chief and district attorney currently decide whether to release footage — something, coupled with Act 22, that didn’t sit well with community members.
“It kind of takes away that air of accountability that we’re talking about and does make this a concern,” said Melanie Morrison, a local activist from Millheim and founding member of the 3/20 Coalition.
Geoffrey Landers-Nolan, of Pine Grove Mills, asked that the community oversight board be able to review such footage once the board is officially created sometime in October. Before then, a research group is currently being formed — and should start next Monday — to eventually offer recommendations to the borough council on what the oversight board should look like.
“While the sooner we get this implemented the better,” councilman Evan Myers said, referring to the oversight board, “I do agree that we need to make sure we do it right.”
Myers wondered aloud about an ordinance that might force police to be more transparent about the cams. And the council seemed open to Landers-Nolan’s suggestion.
Much of the discussion Monday revolved around police transparency, with council members asking operational questions about the body cams. Because WatchGuard cameras are already used in the police cars, for instance, the body cameras will turn on whenever the police car’s emergency lights turn on. The footage can also not be easily deleted, unless the camera is returned to the station, docked, the video uploaded and then a password — only two officials have — input.
The camera can be easily turned on manually, but not easily turned off. According to Brauser, to manually turn the camera off, the button needs to be held in while cycling through the correct category, making an “accidental” switch off exceedingly improbable.
It’s taken the State College Police Department about two years to arrive at this point. Police negotiated with WatchGuard in the summer of 2018 for a free demo, tested two body cams in the field in September and October 2018 and then requested 20 body cams for the next year’s budget.
By July 2019, officers were trained, everything was installed, and the department went live with the 20 body cams. Although there weren’t enough body cams for the entire department in 2019 due to the piecemeal phasing, there will be once the 65 new cams are ready to go.
The borough council is again set to discuss the oversight board and more police issues at 7 p.m. Monday.
