Article Would Seek Funding For Body Cameras

ORLEANS – In July, 43-year-old Francis Gigliotti died outside of a store in Haverhill after police attempted to restrain him and place him under arrest. The death has been medically classified as a homicide, but an investigation is ongoing into how police responded to the incident.

 Haverhill police do not wear body cameras, a fact that gave Orleans Police Chief Scott MacDonald pause for thought.

 “It got me thinking ‘Is there an expectation from the public that all police departments have this?’”

 Orleans may soon become one of the next towns to authorize the use of body cameras by its police officers if an article seeking funding for the technology is approved at the special town meeting on Nov. 17.

The use of body cameras has become increasingly commonplace in police departments nationwide in recent years, including some here on the Cape. But MacDonald said in Orleans, police made the decision to ease into the decision about whether or not to pursue the use of body cameras technology.

 “I just wanted everything to kind of settle down,” he said. “Let’s learn from others’ mistakes. Let’s learn about the technology, the hardware, software, the storage capabilities. And then let’s see how policies evolve.”

Having spoken with other police chiefs in departments on the Cape that have rolled out the use of the cameras and made headway on policies for how they might be used in Orleans, MacDonald last week said that “now is the time” to move ahead with using the cameras locally. 

 “I feel very strongly that yes, this is going to be a tremendous benefit not just to the police department, but the town as a whole,” he said.

 The article drafted for the November town meeting calls for $177,000 for the purchase of the body cameras and in-car video systems. That cost accounts for not just the software and hardware, but also cloud storage for video, MacDonald said.

 During the select board’s Sept. 10 meeting, Town Manager Kim Newman said that the article could be funded through free cash if the town’s free cash reserves for the current fiscal year are certified in time for the Nov. 17 meeting.

 By providing video documentation of officers at work, body cameras encourage “ethical policing,” MacDonald said. Beyond holding police more accountable, he said that camera footage can also be used to defend officers against claims of misconduct.

 “Based on my conversations with a few of the chiefs on the Cape, they have told me that the video evidence has cleared more officers of misconduct based on citizen complaints than have supported allegations against the officers,” he said.

 With the funding, police cruisers would also be equipped with video systems to augment the body cameras, allowing for a more full accounting of incidents as they occur. In particular, MacDonald said the video systems capture footage of police pursuits that body cameras may not be able to.

 If funding is approved in November, MacDonald said the cameras and in-car systems will be rolled out over multiple phases. One phase includes the preparation for in-department policies and guidelines on how to use the technology.

 MacDonald said that a draft set of policies are in place and that the policies have been crafted with input from the local police union.

 “We still need to fine tune it, but we’re confident that the union is on board with respect to the policy, and we are very close to moving forward in completing that task,” he said.

 The expectation is that officers will have their cameras activated in most instances. But MacDonald said that there may be instances in which cameras will be allowed to be disabled.

 “If you’re dealing with a witness, not a suspect but a witness that does not want to be recorded, that might be an option where an officer might shut off their camera. And that seems pretty standard,” he said.

 Another phase of the roll out will involve officer training. That includes training from the product vendor, Motorola, on how to use the technology, as well as training on the department’s specific policies governing how to use it. 

 One of the last phases will be “testing and evaluation” of the technology, which MacDonald said could take a few months.

 “We can’t just go out there and put this equipment on our officers and expect them to understand it immediately,” he said. “We have to give them a little bit of time to get used to this.”

 But while the technology is expected to be an asset to police, MacDonald said that it will create some additional work. Someone will be required to review all body camera and vehicle footage, for instance. 

MacDonald said while he expects that can be taken care of within the department’s existing staffing to start, it remains to be seen what the department’s needs will be in the long term. He said some of the Cape’s larger police departments have had to hire someone specifically to review footage while others have not.

“There are some unknowns here,” he said. “We don’t actually know if there will be other costs associated with this initiative.”

 MacDonald was due to give a presentation on the proposed article to the select board Sept. 24, after The Chronicle went to press. The warrant for the Nov. 17 town meeting closes Oct. 1.