David Riley

Staff writer

City, police and union officials announced a basic agreement Thursday to equip Rochester police officers with body cameras.

Many details still are in the works, including how many officers might wear cameras, how soon and what the devices may cost. But it was the first time that several of the city's top elected leaders, police management and the president of the officers' union stood together to publicly commit to using body cameras.

At a news conference, Mayor Lovely Warren said the decision comes after more than a year of research that began well before police incidents elsewhere in the country sparked national interest in body cameras.

The mayor called the city's police well-trained and the best in the business.

"Every day, they put themselves in situations where they have to act quickly and take actions to protect the public, and sometimes, to protect themselves," Warren said. "Body cameras can be a useful tool for all of us if a situation was to arise."

One potential point of contention — how and when the cameras will be switched on and off — arose during Thursday's news conference.

Rochester defense attorney John Parrinello attended the press event and questioned city officials — interrupting them at times — on whether they support having cameras record continuously, throughout an officer's shift, or giving the officer the discretion to turn them on and off.

Warren and Police Chief Michael Ciminelli said city officials still are working out the answers to this and other questions.

But Michael Mazzeo, president of the Locust Club, or the police union, said he would not support continuous recording.

"Absolutely not," he said, answering Parrinello.

"Then you're missing the boat," the attorney replied.

Mazzeo said later that continuous recording raises potential privacy problems. What if an officer needs to talk to a citizen with an anonymous tip, discuss a confidential matter with the union or take a phone call from a spouse, he asked?

Fundamentally, the union accepts that technology is changing and just wants to negotiate how it can work best for its members, Mazzeo said.

Parrinello, who showed photos of bruised clients who claim to have been injured by police officers, said that keeping cameras rolling at all times will capture the full story of disputed events. If officers can switch cameras on and off, "all you'll do is get snippets of what happened and the same debate," Parrinello said.

"All credibility concerning cameras will go out the window," he said.

Locally, Rochester isn't alone in using body cameras. Gates and Greece police are using them, and officers in both towns have full discretion over when to activate them.

Monroe County sheriff's deputies have plans to try the devices out, too.

Warren said the city hopes to tap up to 50 percent in federal matching funds recently announced by President Obama for police body cameras.

Ciminelli said there are 20 or more types of camera systems available, ranging in cost from $600 to $1,200 each. That does not include related costs, such as storage for video files, training for officers and maintenance of the system.

The chief said a detailed proposal should be ready for the city's 2015-16 budget. Officers may test out different types of cameras before the city chooses a system, Ciminelli said.

Warren said cameras are one tool of many, but they could help ensure safety, transparency and accountability.

Just as important, Mazzeo said, is getting more police back into the city's neighborhoods.

"This is a tool we can utilize, but it's not the end-all," he said. "And it's not the answer to all the problems."

City Council President Loretta Scott and member Adam McFadden, who heads the council's public safety committee, said that citizens have been asking for body cameras and that it's the right time to adopt them.

"I think the cameras would be really helpful in providing a clear, indisputable — as much as anything is indisputable — record," Scott said.