Montgomery officers to get high-tech body cameras

A 74-year-old man was dead after being shot by a Selma Police Department officer. The officer was not indicted. But this time everyone could see why he wasn't — literally see it.

The Selma Police Department has 26 or 27 body cameras, and the officer involved in the December 2013 shooting of Ananias Shaw was wearing one. Footage from the body camera, released last week, showed the victim holding a hatchet as he rushed toward the Selma police officer.

The officer was cleared relatively quickly following a State Bureau of Investigation and District Attorney investigation and a grand jury decision. Without the body cameras that might not have been the case.

Lt. John Brock, with the Selma Police Department, said their officers have had body cameras for about two years and the devices have proven helpful not just in cases involving possible complaints against officers, but in court, at crime scenes, and for witness testimony.

"The body cameras help us out a lot. If we could have one for every officer, that's what we want and we're working on it with the city council and private organizations to get more," Brock said.

But it is officer-involved incidents that are probably fueling purchases of body cameras most, even though each camera costs between $600 and $900.

"Since the incident in Ferguson made national news, the body cameras are very popular now in the police world," Brock said.

But law enforcement was interested in equipping officers with the cameras long before national attention recently focused on police-involved incidents.

Sheriff-elect Derrick Cunningham, who has already placed a major order for body cameras, said he and the department were researching their use and talking to vendors long before Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson was involved in the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in August of last year.

"We go through phases in law enforcement. We went through a phase of putting cameras in cars and now we are putting video cameras on the actual person," Cunningham said. "These body cameras are much needed. It takes the doubt and the guessing out of an investigation. Everything will be documented. It will be a great tool for us in law enforcement and will assist us on the job every day."

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office has placed an order for 86 L-3 Mobile-Vision HD body cameras for patrol deputies and correction officers, along with upgrading 100 of the department's in-vehicle camera modems. The Montgomery County Commission approved an appropriation of $70,000 for the department in December of last year. The sheriff's office will contribute $60,000 toward the project.

Martha Earnhardt, spokeswoman for the Montgomery Department of Public Safety, said the Montgomery Police Department is still in the process of testing different camera equipment in the field and is planning on supplying 300 patrol officers with body cameras once testing is complete.

For more than three years all Prattville police department patrol officers have been issued body cameras, according to Prattville Police Chief Mark Thompson. But he says the department is hoping to upgrade from the Scorpion cameras it uses now to smaller units that provide clearer images, especially in low-light situations.

The body cameras that Cunningham is expecting to arrive within days will be able to record several hours of footage in high definition and get good images at night and in low light.

Since the department already uses L3 Mobile Vision for their vehicle dash-cameras, the compatible software will allow the body cameras to automatically download footage to the patrol car and then directly to the sheriff's office.

"Once an officer gets out of the vehicle, it will automatically download to the main server and create a file right then and there. It's wireless, so it takes away from having to remember to push a button," Cunningham explained.

The cameras will be the size of a flip-phone and be secured to the front of an officer's shirt with a strap attachment. It will have a docking station inside the vehicle.

"This is just another tool that we are putting with the rest of our tools we use to fight crime and keep our citizens safe," Cunningham said.

Having body cameras will save money and ensure the public's trust by providing critical evidence to a case, Cunningham said.

"The new camera system is a win for the citizens of Montgomery County, knowing that law enforcement will be able to record and prove without a shadow of a doubt what actually took place. If we go on a call of a traffic accident or anything we want to document, we can have it right then and see exactly what transpired," Cunningham added.

Brock said seeing what expired may not always vindicate officers, but will vindicate those who have conducted themselves correctly.

"The cameras can be a good thing and a bad thing," he said. "If the officer doesn't do something right, it can bite him, but it helps to prove when he's done something right. It works both ways."

Marty Roney contributed to this story

Law and (Body Camera) Order

•The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office has placed an order for 86 body cameras

•The Montgomery Police Department plans on ordering 300 body cameras as soon as it finishes testing different models.

•The Prattville Police Department currently has Scorpion body cameras but hopes to upgrade soon to better body cameras that work better in low light.

•The Selma Police Department has 26 or 27 body cameras and hopes to order more.