By Elizabeth Crisp and Grace Toohey
The Advocate
NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana is in line to become the first state to outfit all of its troopers with body cameras, a move that law enforcement officials say will provide transparency and improve policing.
“Nobody else has done what we’re announcing today,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said. “This full statewide deployment is the first of its kind in the country.”
The $5.3 million effort comes as more law enforcement agencies move toward implementing body-worn cameras and address conflicts between officers and the public.
Louisiana made national headlines in July after two white Baton Rouge police officers killed Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, during an altercation in a convenience store parking lot.
Cellphone-recorded video of Sterling’s death quickly spread online after the shooting and sparked mass protests. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the incident.
State Police Superintendent Col. Mike Edmonson said implementing a body camera program for all 700 troopers will help protect the public and State Police.
“This is about transparency and accountability,” he said. “The public has a right to know what we are doing.”
Studies suggest that body cams can lead to fewer conflicts with police.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Criminology found that body-worn cameras reduced the use of force by 59 percent and complaints against officers dropped 87 percent compared to the previous year during a 12-month trial study of Rialto, California, police in 2013.
“When people know they’re being recorded, everybody’s behavior improves,” said Rick Smith, CEO and co-founder of TASER, the Arizona-based company that the state is contracting with for the cameras and cloud storage for video.
Smith attended Wednesday’s announcement of the program.
State Police in the New Orleans area will get body-worn cameras in the first wave of the program expected in January. From there, the effort will spread across the state in the coming months.
Edmonson said that the effort will cost $5.3 million over five years, but State Police will be using existing funds to cover the cost.
Both Baton Rouge police officers were wearing body cameras when one fatally shot Sterling, but BRPD said both cameras fell off during the struggle with Sterling so there was no footage from them of what happened.
Smith said that the state will have four options for attaching the cameras to troopers, which will make them more secure and less-likely to fall off.
A pilot program, involving 22 officers, has been going on for the past seven months.
“They open up the communication line between our police and first responders and the public,” Edmonson said.
He said it will also serve as a training tool, as supervisors can view police interactions with the public and give feedback.
The move by the State Police follows similar action that has been taken by the New Orleans Police Department, the Baton Rouge Police Department and the Lafayette Police Department to institute body-worn camera policies.
The New Orleans Police Department became a leader in the movement when they began their body-camera program in 2014. It now includes body cameras for most officers. NOPD Superintendent John Thomas hailed their program as a success during a meeting of the Baton Rouge Body Camera Task Force in early November.
He said program is a significant cost upfront, but he believes it pays off. Thomas said body camera videos have helped resolve citizen complaints and potentially prevent litigation against New Orleans officers.
BRPD launched a pilot body-camera program last October and hopes to cement the program in 2017, pending parish funding. BRPD’s First District has tested four body-camera vendors and will make a recommendation in April to Mayor-President-elect Sharon Weston Broome’s administration for funding.
“We have noticed a decrease in complaints and an increase in officer accountability,” BRPD Chief Carl Dabadie told the Metro Council last week, citing the success of the body camera pilot program.
Dabadie estimated the program’s implementation for the entire department would cost about $5 million over five years. Outgoing Mayor Kip Holden’s administration didn’t include money to buy cameras for the entire department.
The Lafayette Police Department equipped 20 officers with body cameras last week in a trial run before issuing the devices to every uniformed officer in the department. The department has about 60 body cameras and another 90 are on order and expected to arrive in March. After working out all the kinks of the trial, the department plans to expand the program, newly-appointed Lafayette Police Chief Toby Aguillard said.
“Anyone wearing a uniform will have a body camera,” said Deputy Chief Reginald Thomas.
The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Sid Gautreaux has expressed interest in a body-camera program, but said his office has not had the money for it.