By Craig Anderson

DOVER — To comply with state law, Delaware will fund the purchase of body-worn cameras for 17 agencies which don’t currently have them.

While roughly 21 law enforcement agencies statewide use cameras, a number of municipal forces and the state police don’t have devices to record interactions between officers and the people with whom they come in contact.

The camera purchases are expected to begin this summer, with a goal of having all law enforcement agencies’ needs met by the end of the year.

According to Department of Safety and Homeland Security spokesman Arshon Howard, purchasing equipment for state and municipal law enforcements “(is) a top priority.”

Additionally, Mr. Howard said, “Once the equipment is distributed, each police agency will be responsible for managing its own individual body-worn camera program in accordance with the final Council on Police Training regulations.”

State officials are pushing for expansion of camera use by law enforcement statewide.

The “widespread and consistent use of body-worn cameras” is mandated by House Bill 195, signed by Gov. John Carney in July 2021. It outlines plans to develop a central data storage program and provide necessary personnel for the program. There is $3.6 million in the governor’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget to fund the program.

The program is overseen by the DSHS, which asked agencies to submit requests for their needs and preferred vendor by Jan. 7, 2022.

Among the requesters was the Dewey Beach Police Department, which is in possession of a camera as a pilot program. The agency has declined comment on whether that camera was in use when an officer fatally shot Rodney K. Robinson II, 21, of Milford, during a pursuit March 19.

‘No proof’

Regarding the impact of last year’s legislation so far, Mike Brickner, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware, pointed to last month’s fatal shooting and said, “HB 195 was meant to increase police accountability and transparency, but we have no proof that the implementation of this bill has done that.

“In last month’s Dewey Beach police-involved shooting, there are still no clear answers on whether body cameras were even in use when the shooting happened. There should be no question — the cameras should have been turned on, and that footage should already be available to the public.”

While the possible use of a camera in the Dewey Beach incident remains publicly unclear, it did impact investigation into another fatal case two years ago.

Camera video was part of evidence evaluated during the investigation into an officer-involved fatal shooting in Milford on Jan. 5, 2020. Two officers activated their devices prior to entering a building where they then discharged their firearms. Their cameras captured a step-by-step response, along with audio that was sometimes difficult to make out due to the sound of fabric jostling on the officers’ uniforms, a report said.

The officers were cleared of any wrongdoing by the Delaware Department of Justice.

Based on law enforcement agency responses, Mr. Howard said that police departments without cameras and seeking equipment through the program include: Delaware State Police, Blades, Delmar, Dewey Beach, Ellendale, Elsmere, Frankford, Kenton, Lewes, Newport, Viola, Wyoming, Delaware Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement, Delaware Capitol Police, DNREC Fish & Wildlife, Delaware Department of Correction and Youth Rehabilitative Services.

As of Wednesday, DSHS records showed the following agencies had cameras in their inventory (though possessing them may not reflect use): Bethany Beach, Bridgeville, Camden, Cheswold, Clayton, Dagsboro, Delaware City, Felton, Fenwick Island, Frederica, Georgetown, Greenwood, Harrington, Laurel, Millsboro, Milton, New Castle City, Ocean View, Rehoboth Beach, Selbyville and South Bethany Beach.

Before the legislation passed, Dover police announced plans to institute a camera program that will be “fully operational in the coming weeks,” spokesman Sgt. Mark Hoffman said.

Mr. Howard said the DSHS request for information focused on equipment needs and did not ask for specific details on previous or current camera use.

Also, Mr. Howard said, “There are several police agencies statewide that have piloted BWCs and acquired equipment within the last 10 years, but we cannot speak to their use of the cameras or the status of their programs.”

‘Invaluable’ resource

Many agencies using them speak glowingly of their usefulness.

Cheswold Police Chief Christopher Workman, whose department first deployed cameras in 2018, said he has allocated $6,000 annually through money provided by the state through the Fund to Combat Violent Crimes.

The Axon-made cameras have proved to be “invaluable,” he said. The entire force — six full-time officers and four part-timers — has their own, and Chief Workman can use one if needed.

“The biggest thing about body cameras is that we want them on at all times, even when mundane, during any and all interactions with the public when you’re working,” he said.

To do so, Chief Workman said, affords officers protection against inflated or false claims by citizens, along with capturing footage that could later be used as evidence.

“Over the years, we’ve seen that (cameras) changes the person you’re dealing with and the officer,” Chief Workman said.

“Honestly, an officer is being recorded when coming to a scene by people’s cell phones, and you know you’re always being recorded,” Chief Workman said. “So this is a way for an officer to capture video of the scene as well.”

A camera facilitates reviews of an officer’s actions and can be used as a training and evaluation mechanism as well, Chief Workman said. Cheswold’s camera policy is available online at cheswold.delaware.gov in the police department section.

Millsboro police officers have worn cameras since approximately 2018. Chief Brian Calloway said everyone, from the chief down, is issued one. The department utilizes 19 Motorola cameras, and has 21 available as two positions remain unfilled. A recent purchase of 18 cameras cost $17,000, he said, and Cloud storage (formerly kept on VCR tape and DVDs) runs around $6,000.

At the end of a shift, an officer inserts a camera into a docking station, where data is automatically downloaded to the Cloud. Dashcam video is downloaded as well, and Chief Calloway said it is then synced with the camera.

Chief Calloway said policy dictates that cameras should be engaged at all times unless absolutely necessary, and an officer should make note of his or her reason for turning it off.

“Typically we inform officers that it’s our policy to let it roll,” Chief Calloway said.

Footage from any use-of-force incident is reviewed by a patrol sergeant, assistant police chief and Chief Calloway. Department heads review every incident at quarterly meetings as well.

Voicing a similar refrain, Chief Calloway said compiling video during an incident response can confirm the actions of officers and suspects, along with potentially becoming a source of evidence.

“Oftentimes, the video is going to display things at a scene that (maybe an officer) didn’t realize happened, but they could then review and look at it and say, ‘OK, this is what happened,’” said Chief Calloway, who said officers can also be evaluated and better trained based on video review.

“Maybe it’s also a victim in their mental state. Any injuries they may have, it can kind of illustrate what happened there. And that can be used later at trial.”

In Camden, a use-of-force incident is held for three years to guard against any lawsuit that could be filed, Chief Marcus Whitney said.

The chief was a skeptic of cameras, he said, but came around when he realized “the transparency they provide. They protect the officers.

“I took more of a big picture view and began to see the value of them.”

In a recent case involving a traffic stop, a Camden officer was able to justify his actions through camera video review after a motorist’s accusations, Chief Whitney said.

Rehoboth Beach officers have worn cameras since 2019. Each of the department’s 18 full-time officers are equipped with one, and there’s a spare, spokesman Sgt. Jaime Riddle said. The 2022 budget for cameras is just over $38,000.

Policies dictate that Rehoboth officers must activate that camera in any of the following situations:

• Prior to any complaint response.

• All enforcement and investigative contacts including stops and field interview situations.

• Traffic stops including, but not limited to, traffic violations, stranded motorist assistance and all crime interdiction stops.

• Self-initiated activity in which an officer would normally notify Communications.

• Any other contact that becomes adversarial after the initial contact in a situation that would not otherwise require recording.

“However,” Sgt. Riddle said, “at no time is a member expected to jeopardize his/her safety in order to activate a portable recorder. Also, the recorder should be activated in mandated situations as soon as reasonably practicable.”

The great benefit of body cameras comes in their ability to collect evidence from an incident or case, which is of more value than in-car cameras that are stationary, Sgt. Riddle maintains.

“The camera allows both the camera and microphone to be attached to the officer and follow them wherever an incident leads them, capturing audio and video recordings of a good portion of what the officer sees, hears and experiences,” he said.

Another aspect of the program is the Axon Citizen capacity, in which, Sgt. Riddle said, “If a citizen captures photo/video evidence of an incident, we are able to use this feature to send them a link through which they can provide the photo/video to our agency.

“This allows the officers to dedicate their time to other tasks at the time of the incident and provides greater privacy to the helpful citizen.”

Committee meeting

A Council on Police Training body-worn cameras subcommittee will meet Monday to review and consider earlier public comments with the plan to make recommendations for proposed standards of use to the full council on April 12.

Monday’s meeting is scheduled for 10 to 11 a.m. It is open to the public and will be held in Classroom 1 of the Delaware State Police Training Academy at 1453 N. DuPont Highway in Dover. The meeting will also be available on Zoom.

For more information, go to publicmeetings.delaware.gov or contact Susan McNatt by calling 302-739-5903 or emailing Susan.a.mcnatt@delaware.gov.

At this point, Mr. Brickner said, ACLU of Delaware isn’t satisfied with the current use of cameras by Delaware law enforcement agencies and called for rapid expansion of the program.

“Law enforcement agencies must work quickly to ensure that body-worn cameras are deployed in every department across the state,” he said.

“Urgency is needed because every day that goes by without the full implementation of HB 195, means additional incidents may occur without a video recording to provide the public full context of the situation.”

Moving forward, Mr. Brickner said, “Body-worn cameras must be turned on whenever a police officer is responding to a call or initiating an investigative encounter between law enforcement and a member of the public.

“There should also be statewide policies that institute penalties for officers who fail to turn their cameras on — because the cameras are far less effective if law enforcement can turn them off with impunity.

“In addition, any footage that captures police use of force or is subject to a complaint from a member of the public should be released to the public.”