Policy
439
San Marino Police Department
San Marino PD CA Policy Manual
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/10/09, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by San Marino Police Department ***DRAFT*** Body Worn Camera Video - 1 Body Worn Camera Video
439.1 POLICY
The San Marino Police Department (SMPD) recognizes that transparency and accountability in law enforcement operations builds trust with the community we serve.
The Department has adopted the use of body worn cameras (BWC) for use by sworn personnel, and has established procedures for sworn members of the Department to follow regarding their use. These procedures will ensure reliable recording of enforcement and investigative contacts with the public.
439.2 BODY WORN CAMERA ASSIGNMENT
All sworn personnel will be assigned a BWC and shall activate their BWC prior to initiating any enforcement or investigative activity involving a member of the public. 439.3 BODY WORN CAMERA EQUIPMENT
Body Worn Camera equipment consists of a body-mounted camera with a built-in microphone camera mount and a mobile application. The BWC is worn on the outside of an officer's uniform, facing forward to capture video and audio recordings. The BWC video and audio recordings are stored digitally on the BWC and can be viewed on a handheld viewing device or an authorized computer. An officer cannot modify, alter, or delete video or audio once recorded by the BWC. 439.4 SYSTEM OPERATIONAL STANDARDS
• In-Car Video and Body Worn Camera installations should be based on officer safety requirements and the vehicle device manufacturer's recommendations • The In-Car Video and Body Worn Camera system should be configured to minimally record for 30 seconds prior to activation an event
• Employees shall not erase, alter, reuse, modify or tamper with In-Car Video and Body Worn Camera recordings
• The In-Car Video and Body Worn Camera system provides continuous background recording and the ability to go back in time and capture video (not audio) from an event when the record button was not pressed
439.5 SWORN PERSONNEL RESPONSIBILITIES
Only sworn personnel that have completed the Department-approved training on the policy, use, and operation of the BWC and the media storage system will be allowed to operate the BWC and media storage system.
Prior to going into service, each sworn employee will properly equip him/herself to record audio and video when initiating any investigative or enforcement activity involving a member of the public including but not limited to:
San Marino Police Department
San Marino PD CA Policy Manual
Body Worn Camera Video
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/10/09, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by San Marino Police Department ***DRAFT*** Body Worn Camera Video - 2 • Vehicle stops;
• Pedestrian stops (including officer-initiated and consensual encounters); • Calls for service;
• Code 3 responses (including vehicle pursuits) regardless of whether the vehicle is equipped with In-Car video equipment;
• Foot pursuits;
• Searches;
• Arrests;
• Uses of force;
• In-custody transports;
• Witness and victim interviews;
• Crowd management and control involving enforcement or investigative contacts; and • Other investigative or enforcement activities where, in the officer's judgement, a video recording would assist in the investigation or prosecution of a crime or when a recording of an encounter would assist in documenting the incident for later investigation or review
439.6 SUPERVISOR'S RESPONSIBILITIES
Sworn supervisors shall:
• Ensure that officers assigned BWC Equipment have completed Department-required training and are familiar with applicable policies and procedures; • Conduct periodic inspections of officers assigned BWC equipment and ensure that Body Worn Cameras are properly affixed to the officers' uniforms and fully operable; • Ensure officers confirm all BWC video recordings have been uploaded at the end of their shift; and
• Review relevant BWC recordings prior to submitting any administrative reports (e.g. use of force investigations, pursuits, officer-involved traffic crashes After conducting an inspection of an officer's assigned BWC equipment, the supervisor shall document the inspection in his or her Daily Team Report. If any of the BWC equipment is found to be defective, the supervisor must ensure that the equipment is removed from service and immediately replaced. The supervisor must complete a memorandum documenting the incident and also notify the Administrative Sergeant, via email, regarding the equipment that was taken out of service. The Administrative Sergeant shall arrange for repair, replacement or disposal of unserviceable equipment per City of San Marino City Code.
Recordings Level II, III, and IV Use of Force Incidents – Supervisor's Responsibilities San Marino Police Department
San Marino PD CA Policy Manual
Body Worn Camera Video
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/10/09, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by San Marino Police Department ***DRAFT*** Body Worn Camera Video - 3 Supervisors investigating Use of Force (UOF) incidents shall, when available, allow involved officers to review their BWC recordings and, if deemed necessary, review other BWC recordings to ensure complete and accurate reports and documentation of the incident. A Level II-Use of Force includes an injury requiring transport to the hospital for medical treatment but not admission. A Level III-Use of Force includes a complaint of pain, evaluation by paramedics in the field but not transported. A Level IV-Use of Force includes resistive handcuffing. Resistive handcuffing is more than a firm grip but no medical treatment is required.
Recordings In Level I-Use of Force Incidents – Supervisor's Responsibilities Supervisors must take possession of an officer's BWC equipment when the officer is involved in a Level I-Use of Force to ensure the recording has stopped, power off the camera, and maintain custody until transferred to Investigative personnel. A Level I-Use of Force includes officer involved shootings, great bodily injury to the person used force on or an injury requiring admission to a hospital.
Note: Supervisors shall not view the BWC recording without express authorization of the Level IUse of Force Investigators. The Investigators, upon arrival at the scene of a Level I-Use of Force incident, shall take possession of any involved officer's BWC and complete the upload process. 439.7 OPERATIONS COMMANDER'S RESPONSIBILITIES
The Operations Commander shall:
• Conduct roll call training on expectations, use of maintenance of the BWC equipment; • Review deviations from BWC policy and procedures and take appropriate action; • Ensure all BWC anomalies identified by the Administrative Sergeant have been addressed and any appropriate documentation is returned to the Administrative Sergeant for Operations Commander review;
• Review supervisor inspections regarding defective equipment, systems, and ensure necessary steps are taken to have them repaired;
• Review Daily Teams Reports to ensure inspections of sworn personnel assigned BWC equipment are being conducted and documented. If field inspections are not properly documented, the Commander must take appropriate action to correct the deficiency and appropriately document the findings and the corrective action taken. 439.8 ADMINISTRATIVE SERGEANT'S RESPONSIBILITIES
The Administrative Sergeant shall:
• Verify officers have been trained on the use and deployment of BWC; • Document all employees who have been trained on the use of BWC on the Department Training Tracking log;
• Ensure all new sworn personnel receive proper training on the use and deployment of BWC equipment;
San Marino Police Department
San Marino PD CA Policy Manual
Body Worn Camera Video
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/10/09, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by San Marino Police Department ***DRAFT*** Body Worn Camera Video - 4 • Review all email documenting inoperable equipment and facilitate the equipment's repair;
• Deliver all inoperable equipment to the Department contact with the BWC vendor. • Notify the Operations Commander in the event that it appears that BWC equipment has been tampered with.
439.9 INABILITY TO ACTIVATE PRIOR TO INITIATING ENFORCEMENT OR
INVESTIGATIVE ACTIVITY
If an officer is unable to activate his or her BWC prior to initiating any of these enforcement or investigative activities, the officer shall activate the device as soon as it is practical and safe to do so. As in all enforcement and investigative activities including vehicle and pedestrian stops, the safety of the officers and members of the public are the highest priority. The officer shall document the reason for not activating his or her BWC.
439.10 RECORDING OF ENTIRE CONTACT
The BWC shall continue recording until the investigative or enforcement activity involving a member of the public has ended. If enforcement or investigative activity with a member of the public resumes, the officer shall activate the BWC device and continue recording. 439.11 DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED FOR FAILING TO ACTIVATE BODY WORN
CAMERA AND RECORDING THE DURATION OF THE CONTACT
If an officer is unable or fails to activate the BWC prior to initiating an enforcement or investigation contact, fails to record the entire contact, or interrupts the recording for any reason, the officer shall set forth the reasons why a recording was not made, was delayed, was interrupted, or was terminated in the comments field of the incident in the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) System.
Additionally, notification shall be made to the Watch Commander and the Operations or Detective Commander for review and disposition. Documentation shall be made in the CAD summary or Incident Report.
439.12 CONFIDENTIAL NATURE OF RECORDINGS
Body Worn Video use is limited to enforcement and investigative activities involving members of the public. The BWC recordings will capture video and audio evidence for use in criminal investigations, administrative reviews, and other proceedings protected by confidentiality laws and Department policy. Officers shall comply with all applicable laws and policies regarding the confidential nature of Department records, reports, and information. Unauthorized use or release of BWC recordings may compromise ongoing criminal and administrative investigations or violate the privacy rights of those recorded. Therefore, any unauthorized use or release of BWV or other violation of confidentiality laws and Department policies are considered serious misconduct and subject to disciplinary action.
San Marino Police Department
San Marino PD CA Policy Manual
Body Worn Camera Video
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/10/09, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by San Marino Police Department ***DRAFT*** Body Worn Camera Video - 5 439.13 PROHIBITION AGAINST MODIFICATION OF RECORDINGS
Officers shall not copy, edit, alter, erase, or otherwise modify in any manner BWC recordings except as authorized by law or Department policy. Any violation of this provision is considered serious misconduct and subject to disciplinary action.
439.14 NOTICE TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC OF RECORDING
Officers are encouraged to inform individuals that they are being recorded when feasible. Officers, however, are not required to obtain consent from members of the public when the officers are lawfully in the area where the recording takes place. For example, an officer who lawfully enters a business or residence shall record any enforcement or investigative activity, as set forth above, and is not required to obtain consent from members of the public who may also be present. In addition, officers are not required to play back BWC recordings to allow members of the public to review the video footage.
439.15 PROHIBITION AGAINST RECORDING PERSONNEL IN NON-ENFORCEMENT OR
INVESTIGATIVE SITUATIONS
Body Worn Camera equipment shall only be used in conjunction with official law enforcement and investigative activities involving members of the public. Body Worn Cameras shall not be used to record department personnel during briefings, meetings, roll calls or while in private spaces such as locker rooms or restrooms.
439.16 DEPARTMENT-ISSUED EQUIPMENT ONLY
Officers assigned BWC equipment shall not use any other non-department issued video or audio equipment, such as personally owned video or audio recorders, to record enforcement or investigative activities involving members of the public unless expressly authorized by a supervisor. Uniformed supervisory personnel, however, may use digital recording devices other than a BWC to record interviews when conducting use of force or personnel complaint investigations. Nothing in this provision precludes personnel from utilizing authorized still photography equipment.
439.17 PROPERTY OF THE DEPARTMENT
Body Worn Camera equipment and all data, images, video, and metadata captured, recorded, or otherwise produced is the sole property of the department and any unauthorized release is strictly prohibited. All recordings made by members on any department-issued device at any time, and any recording made while acting in an official capacity of this department, regardless of ownership of the device it was made on, shall remain the property of the department. Members shall have no expectation of privacy or ownership interest in the content of these recordings. 439.18 INSPECTION AND TESTING OF EQUIPMENT
The Body Worn Camera equipment is the responsibility of the assigned officer and will be used with reasonable care to ensure proper functioning and reliability. At the start of a field assignment, San Marino Police Department
San Marino PD CA Policy Manual
Body Worn Camera Video
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/10/09, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by San Marino Police Department ***DRAFT*** Body Worn Camera Video - 6 officers shall inspect and test their BWC and make sure it is undamaged and operating properly.
The inspection will be documented by the on-duty Watch Commander or his or her designee. 439.19 DAMAGED, MALFUNCTIONING, OR INOPERABLE EQUIPMENT If an officer's BWC equipment malfunctions or is damaged, the officer shall notify an onduty supervisor (who shall notify the Operations Commander) and email the Administrative Sergeant. The officer is required to provide the malfunctioning or damaged equipment to the Administrative Sergeant and obtain functional BWC equipment before deploying to the field. 439.20 IDENTIFYING RECORDINGS
For each incident recorded on the BWC, officers shall identify the event type and other information using the BWC equipment software that best describes the content of the video (i.e. arrest, traffic strop, report). Body Worn Camera recordings, however, are not a replacement for written reports or other required documentation such as a CAD summary.
439.21 STORAGE OF RECORDINGS
At the end of each shift, officers shall upload all BWC recordings to secure storage by docking the device at the station.
439.22 VIEWING OF BODY WORN CAMERA RECORDINGS BY OFFICERS The accuracy of police reports, officer statements, and other official documentation is essential for the proper administration of justice and complying with the Department's obligation to maintain full and complete records of enforcement and investigative activities. Investigators, supervisors, prosecutors, and other officials all rely on complete and accurate records to perform their essential duties and responsibilities. Officers are therefore required to review BWC recordings on their assigned device or authorized computer prior to documenting an incident, arrest, search, interview, use of force, or other enforcement or investigative activity to ensure that their reports, statements, and documentation are accurate and complete. 439.23 PROCEDURE FOR REVIEWING BODY WORN VIDEO RECORDINGS IN LEVEL IUSE OF FORCE INCIDENTS If an officer is involved in a Level I-Use of Force, such as an officer involved shooting, an officer shall not review his or her BWC recording until authorized by the assigned Level I Use of Force Investigator. Once authorized, the officer shall review his or her BWC recording, and any other relevant BWC footage as deemed necessary and appropriate by the assigned Level I Investigation Supervisor, prior to being interviewed by investigators. An officer may have an employee representative present during the review of the BWC recordings without the Level I-Use of Force investigator or supervisor present. The separating and monitoring of officers involved in a Level I-Use of Force shall be maintained during the review of BWC recordings and a review shall not occur jointly among involved employees.
San Marino Police Department
San Marino PD CA Policy Manual
Body Worn Camera Video
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/10/09, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by San Marino Police Department ***DRAFT*** Body Worn Camera Video - 7 439.24 DOCUMENTATION OF RECORDINGS
Officers are required to document any portion of an incident captured on the BWC system under the heading "Photos, Recordings, Video, In Car Video, BWC, and Digital Imaging" on all administrative and investigative reports (e.g. "The suspect's spontaneous statement and actions were recorded via BWC"). If an employee is unable to review the BWC recording before submitting a report, the officer must document in this section the circumstances that prevented his or her review. If any portion of an incident resulting in an arrest was captured by BWC equipment, officers shall identify the existence of a BWC recording on all necessary forms. 439.25 BODY WORN CAMERA DATA STORAGE AND OPEN RECORDS LAWS Critical Incidents
A video or audio recording that relates to a critical incident, as defined, is to be withheld for 45- calendar days if disclosure would substantially interfere with an investigation or would endanger the successful completion of the investigation.
A critical incident includes:
• Officer-involved shooting, regardless of whether a person was hit by gunfire (this does not include negligent unintentional discharges or officer-involved animal shootings) • A use of force resulting in death or serious bodily injury requiring hospitalization; • Any other police encounter where the Chief of Police or City Manager determines release of video is in the public's interest.
• All deaths while an arrestee/detainee is in the custodial care of the Department unless all of the following conditions exist:
(a) The Los Angeles County Coroner makes a preliminary determination that the death was caused by natural, accidental, or undetermined means; (b) The incident did not involve a use of force or evidence of foul play; (c) There is no misconduct which would rise to the level of negligence or risk management issues associated with the incident to include: commission of a criminal offense, neglect of duty, violation of Department policies, rules, or procedures, or conduct which may tend to reflect unfavorably upon the employee to the Department; (d) The investigation reveals that there were no violations of Department policies or procedures which directly led to the death;
(e) The toxicology report supports the Coroner's determination; and (f) The investigation reveals no problematic evidence or substantially conflicting witness statements regarding the incident.
Body Worn Camera recordings from "non-evidentiary incidents" shall be stored for 60 days. If an incident involved a use of force, arrest, or complaint against an officer or the Department, Body Worn Camera recordings shall be stored for a minimum of two years, or any time relevant to the criminal prosecution. (Assembly Bill 69 – 2015, Assembly Bill 1953 – 2016) San Marino Police Department
San Marino PD CA Policy Manual
Body Worn Camera Video
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/10/09, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by San Marino Police Department ***DRAFT*** Body Worn Camera Video - 8 Storage procedures shall ensure that evidentiary chains of custody are preserved, records of access and deletion of data are retained permanently and shall indicate where body camera data will be stored (to include records or logs of access and deletion of data). (Assembly Bill 1953 – 2016)
Assembly Bill 459 (2017) specifies that the California Public Records Act does not require disclosure of a video or audio recording that was created during the commission or investigation of the crime of rape, incest, sexual assault, domestic violence or child abuse that depicts the face, intimate body part, or voice of a victim or the incident depicted in the recording. The law also requires a law enforcement agency to justify withholding such a video or audio recording by demonstrating that the public interest served by not disclosing the recording clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the recording. The law authorizes a victim who is a subject of such a recording to be permitted to inspect the recording and to obtain a copy of the recording.