The Denver Police Department will require officers working off duty at bars, liquor stores and other businesses to wear body cameras, changing a policy that has been in development for nearly a year.
Chief Robert White said Tuesday during a city budget hearing that officers who are assigned body cameras as part of their regular police duties will be told to wear them when they work off-duty jobs.
A draft policy released this month did not include a requirement that off-duty cops wear them. That triggered criticism from civil rights groups, and the City Council questioned the policy during the hearing.
Council member Mary Beth Susman asked White why the department could not field body cameras for off-duty officers in phases. If a cop is assigned one, then make him wear it when working the other job, she said.
White said the 800 officers who will get body cameras during the next year will wear them when they work off-duty security.
Susman pinned White down by asking, “So, those who already have them will be required to wear them off duty?”
White replied, “Yes, absolutely.”
Pressure has been growing for the police department to require the cameras for officers working off-duty assignments. When police work these assignments, their wages are paid by the businesses who hire them. But the officers wear their uniforms, use department-issued equipment and are bound by department rules. If they use excessive force, the city can be held liable.
On Monday, the Citizens Oversight Board, a publicly appointed police watchdog panel, sent a letter to Mayor Michael Hancock and the City Council, saying the program would not be effective if off-duty officers are not issued cameras.
The letter cited three examples of when body cameras would have aided internal investigations into force used by cops working off duty, including a case where an officer eventually was exonerated.
“It is our understanding the DPD is not moving ahead with (body-worn cameras) for off-duty officers due to budgetary considerations,” the letter said.
In his presentation, White told council members the department had not considered buying cameras for off-duty officers because of the expense. Data storage is particularly expensive, he said.
“As for off duty, it should be noted we were never opposed to officers wearing body cameras off duty,” he said.
He gave the council estimates for how much it would cost to give cameras to every officer working off duty. But he was asked to come up with a more detailed financial analysis and present it during an October meeting.
The department will start with 800 body cameras that will be issued during the next year to corporals and below who work in patrol, traffic and the gang unit. Officers will not share the devices.
Taser International was awarded a contract in July for $6.1 million over five years for 800 body cameras and data storage.
In 2014, the department ran a pilot program for the cameras, which were issued to patrol officers in District 6, which includes downtown Denver.
In March, Nick Mitchell, the city’s independent monitor, critiqued the pilot program. His study found that police recorded only about one in every four use-of-force incidents during the six-month test run.
He reported that incidents were not recorded because officers failed to turn them on, technical malfunctions occurred and cameras were not distributed to enough people.
Mitchell offered recommendations for the program, including a requirement that officers wear them while working off duty and that sergeants wear them.
The independent monitor’s critique angered police commanders, but the report received support from the ACLU of Colorado, the Colorado Latino Forum and other civil rights groups.
On Tuesday, Hancock said everyone was on the same page about off-duty officers wearing the cameras. He told the council he was in contact with businesses who hire the officers to find an avenue for them to share the costs.
White provided tentative numbers to council for fielding the cameras for technicians, detectives and sergeants and others who take the off-duty police work.
The council asked White to gather more specific financial data and report back in October.
The department estimates it would cost from $500,000 to $1 million to provide the cameras for the remaining officers and an additional $330,000 to maintain the cameras for non-patrol officers who work off duty, according to an e-mail from the department to The Denver Post on Tuesday.
The e-mail also said White believes the off-duty-camera program and policy must be implemented in a thoughtful and responsible manner.
“There are several logistical concerns we are going to have to consider and work through, but we are committed to making it happen,” the e-mail said.
After the meeting, Susman said she was pleased that police will take steps to field the cameras for officers whether they are on patrol or working outside a LoDo bar.
“It’s a start,” she said.
Noelle Phillips: 303-954-1661, nphillips@denverpost.com or @Noelle_Phillips
