During a six-month trial run for body cameras in the Denver Police Department, only about one out of every four use-of-force incidents involving officers was recorded.
Cases where officers punched people, used pepper spray or Tasers, or struck people with batons were not recorded because officers failed to turn on cameras, technical malfunctions occurred or because the cameras were not distributed to enough people, according to a report released Tuesday by Denver’s independent monitor Nick Mitchell.
However, the Denver Police Department disputed Mitchell’s numbers, saying their preliminary reports indicate a much higher percentage of use-of-force cases were captured on video.
The monitor’s report praises the police department for taking steps to outfit its patrol and traffic officers with the cameras. The cameras already have proved effective in resolving citizen complaints and handling internal investigations, Mitchell wrote in his annual report.
DOCUMENT: Read the monitor’s report on Denver police.
However, the monitor’s office found gaps in the pilot program and offered nine recommendations to improve it, including additional training and more widespread use among the ranks.
Mitchell said he wanted to evaluate the pilot project and offer suggestions as the police department embarks on a plan to field body cameras among its more than 800 patrol and traffic officers.
“I want it to be successful going forward,” Mitchell said.
After cases of deadly police shootings and beatings rocked the country in 2014, police watchdogs have encouraged the use of body cameras as a way to more accurately understand what unfolds when officers resort to violence. Many police departments, too, are embracing the cameras, saying they can just as effectively absolve officers of misconduct.
The Denver Police Department in December concluded a six-month pilot project with officers in District 6, which covers LoDo, the central business district and some uptown neighborhoods.
Mitchell evaluated 80 use-of-force reports filed by officers working in District 6 during the pilot project. There was recorded footage of just 21 cases, the monitor’s report said.
Of those 80 incidents, 35 involved sergeants and other supervisors or officers working off-duty assignments. Neither of those groups were required to wear the cameras, the report said. Off-duty officers are those who are hired as security by private bars, stores and other businesses. The officers are in uniform and are covered by police department policies while working the special assignments.
Mitchell recommended that all officers who interact with the public, regardless of rank, wear the cameras. He also said those who are working off-duty assignments and those in specialized units such as SWAT and gang should wear cameras.
In the 45 incidents involving patrol officers who were on-duty, less than half of the use-of-force incidents were recorded, Mitchell said. The reasons for failing to record ranged from technical malfunctions to officers not turning them on to unusable footage.
The police department challenged the independent monitor’s findings at a news conference Tuesday.
Commander Magen Dodge, the department’s operational support commander, said the independent monitor used a time frame that was outside the scope of the pilot program and his report should not have counted sergeants and off-duty cops because they were not part of the pilot program.
The department is waiting on a study from a Cambridge University researcher before it makes any conclusions about the pilot project, Dodge said. The researcher is working with Taser International, the company that supplied the cameras for the pilot program.
A police department preliminary report indicates there were 53 use-of-force incidents among officers given body cameras during the pilot project, Dodge said. Of those, 46 had some footage associated with the event.
Four inappropriate force complaints originated from the 53 incidents, and three had body cam footage. One officer was disciplined for not turning on a camera, she said.
Last fall, Denver City Council approved about $1.5 million to field body cameras, and the city is soliciting bids from various companies. The cameras are relatively inexpensive, but the storage costs can be pricey, Dodge said.
The department’s policies surrounding the operation of body cameras is evolving, including how officers will be disciplined for failing to comply, she said.
The police department sought to minimize the monitor’s findings, but Mitchell said he stood by his staff’s work. He said the analysis was based on police supervisors’ reports on use-of-force incidents.
He believed it was important to count sergeants and off-duty officers as the city forms sound practices to go with the cameras. Those officers are involved in many incidents, he said.
“The fact the department chose not to give them cameras is problematic from a public policy standpoint,” Mitchell said.
He also said his staff counted footage of actual punches, shocks from stun guns and other use-of-force incidents. They did not count video that may have been recorded after the fact or taken by other officers at the scene who did not record the actual incident, he said.
Officers frequently reported that situations quickly deteriorated and it wasn’t safe for them to activate the cameras. However, the monitor’s review found that officers often were not following department orders to turn on cameras at the beginning of public encounters.
Instead, officers were waiting to turn on their cameras and then claiming situations had developed too quickly for them to do so.
Mitchell recommended additional training so that officers understand the importance of activating them from the beginning rather than after the fact. He also suggested the police department revise its policy so that footage is recorded until the conclusion of citizen encounters.
Body cameras also raise privacy issues, and the monitor’s report addresses those concerns. Already, the police department has rules about filming in hospitals, locker rooms and bathrooms.
Mitchell said the police department should offer clear and specific guidance toward filming in those situations. Officers also should be required to notify people that they are being recorded, the report said.
Noelle Phillips: 303-954-1661, nphillips@denverpost.com or twitter.com/Noelle_Phillips
Other findings from the independent monitor’s 2014 annual report
• Complaints of inappropriate force against Denver police officers rose to 210, a 64 percent increase from the previous year.
• The complaints spiked in September and remained higher than average through the end of the year, indicating the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., led to more vigilant public reporting.
• The Denver Police Department should update its racial profiling policy to reflect changes recommended in December by the U.S. Attorney General.
• Complaints of inappropriate force against Denver Sheriff Department deputies rose to 424, a 45 percent increase from 2013.
• The police and sheriff’s departments made improvements in the timeliness of their internal investigations.
