Chesapeake police expand use of body cameras

CHESAPEAKE

In police Officer Cory Ring's line of work, people will sometimes complain about him even before he gets out of his car.

Take that night in November, when a man contacted the Police Department to say Ring had used excessive force when arresting him. The man also said Ring called him "stupid" in front of a magistrate with red hair.

In fact, Ring never called the man names, and the magistrate didn't have red hair, either.

Ring's superiors didn't have to take his word for it. They were able to watch the encounter firsthand.

Ring's secret? A digital video camera he wears on his body.

"It showed that we were completely professional, and we were putting up with his behavior until he started fighting with us," the soft-spoken 28-year-old said. "Everything he had said in his complaint was not true."

Thanks to the camera footage, the complaint was never substantiated.

"It'll prove what you're doing, how you're actually acting," he said. "It pretty much backs up what you're saying without anybody being able to question it."

Ring is part of a growing number of police officers across the country wearing body cameras. He's also a member of the only police department in South Hampton Roads using the cameras, although the Suffolk Police Department just bought 20 cameras through a grant.

Ring is one of roughly 90 Chesapeake officers assigned a body cam. It's a tool police Chief Kelvin Wright touts for its ability to capture evidence, protect officers from complaints and help to improve training and safety. Video captured by the officers can also be used as evidence in court.

The camera, Wright said, is an independent observer. "It tells you exactly what happened," he said.

"I'm a firm believer that you should live your life as if you're always on camera."

Wright wanted the body cameras mainly for officers who interact frequently with the public and for those who have received a high number of complaints. The cameras have cleared officers who have received complaints against them, he said. And it has sped up the time for clearing the complaints.

While some patrol officers have in-car cameras, those can miss key events.

"The majority of an officer's interaction with a citizen takes place away from the car," Wright said.

For the past three years, officers have used cameras that can be clipped to the front of their shirts. They are made by VIEVU (pronounced VEE-view), a Seattle company started in 2007 by a former Seattle police officer. The company said its cameras are used by more than 1,100 agencies nationwide.

Chesapeake police introduced them in 2008, using a Bureau of Justice Assistance grant to buy 90 cameras at $650 apiece.

It was the same year Wright became police chief.

"What sets Chesapeake apart is they were more progressive," said Heidi Traverso, VIEVU's business development director. "Back in 2008, when they bought them, wearable cameras were unheard of. It was a technology that didn't exist. There was nothing to compare it to."

"Whomever at that agency saw the value was pretty brilliant," she said.

Wright was convinced after seeing a demo of the cameras. He liked the technology so much that he has reached out to another company to test its cameras.

Since April, five officers have been wearing a new, more complex body camera with longer recording time. They are still evaluating them, and Wright said he could not discuss the company's quoted price.

The new cameras, made by Taser, take higher-quality video, record locations through GPS, work better at night, and allow officers to tag video files and add case notes. The company said 12 agencies in the country are using them, and a handful of others are testing them.

The downside? Too many wires.

"The camera itself isn't too bad," Ring said. "It's just having all this stuff together and all these wires. It takes a lot to get used to.

"You almost need a degree to get it on some days," Ring joked as he wove wires through holes in his uniform shirt and around the back of his head.

The Taser camera and its components are a bit bulky, while VIEVU's cameras are wireless and require only one piece of equipment: the camera, which is light and as small as a pager.

The difference is in the recording time. VIEVUs capture up to four hours at a time, whereas the Tasers can capture nearly 30 hours

The Taser cameras have three main pieces. At the start of a recent shift, Ring pulled out one piece: a tactical computer weighing about a pound that fits in a person's hand.

The computer has an LCD touch screen, allowing the officer to watch what he has recorded.

Another piece, about the size of a pager, has a button to start recording. It's connected with wires to the computer and to the camera, which can be worn around the ear or on an officer's collar - Ring's preference.

When set up, the camera peeks out from Ring's collar, the record button is clipped to his chest, and the computer rests on his duty belt.

Ring praises the cameras but said he did have a problem once

trying to radio for backup. His Taser camera was connected to his radio, as it was designed. But no matter how much he yelled, there was no response on the other end. He doesn't know what happened.

Ring had stopped a car with three passengers after midnight on South Battlefield Boulevard when he'd caught a whiff of marijuana.

But he was alone.

"When I was riding by myself and couldn't get backup, it was disheartening," he said. Ring ended up handcuffing all of the men outside the car and using the radio in his car to call for backup.

"To me, it was an officer safety issue I brought up," he said.

On the other hand, Ring said he likes the idea of having the camera to support his actions against complaints, as well as its ability to gather evidence. If an officer sees a piece of evidence, he can point his camera, record it, and ultimately "put together better cases with these camera devices," Ring said.

They've also helped to reveal gaps in training as well as ways to improve communication or officer safety.

For police Officer Raymond Kerr, who works in the traffic enforcement unit, wearing the body cam helped him realize he needed to tweak his posture when he responded to calls. He noticed from reviewing footage that he was standing outside a driver's side door in a way that made him vulnerable to the driver instead of standing in a more protective position.

The 11-year member of the department said he loves the cameras. He's been using the VIEVU for more than a year, and he's testing the new version from Taser.

"People with cell phones that record, they only see part of the story," the 36-year-old said. "These cameras give you the whole story."

Ring shared that perspective.

"I like the thought of the camera being there because people can say what they want to say," Ring said. "At the end of the day, it's on video."

Veronica Gonzalez, (757) 222-5208 veronica.gonzalez@pilotonline.com