The Austin Police Department has just rolled out a dozen patrol cars and one motorcycle equipped with new digital dash camera technology. The new system replaces outdated VHS equipment.
In dash camera video, an officer can be seen passing a car driving the wrong way down a sidewalk along an I-35 access road. In another video clip, a motorcycle officer captured a yellow car running a red light.
"Now you can play it in court. Did you run the red light, or didn't you? Here's the video,” said Lt. Pat Cochran.
As Cochran explains, the new digital camera system the department is converting allows officers to capture incidents from first sight.
Triggers like the opening of a door, the patrol car's speed, or when an officer turns on his lights will activate the camera.
The camera is so sophisticated, it actually begins recording 30 seconds before activation.
The department’s current VHS camera system depends on officers to manually push the record button. That system proved controversial when two officers failed to activate their cameras in the fatal shooting of Nathaniel Sanders.
Without their video, grand jurors and internal affairs investigators had to rely on eyewitness accounts, statements mainly from the officers themselves. That put doubt in the minds of some in the community as to what really happened.
The new cameras should eliminate that doubt.
"If the officer messes up, it's going to be on tape. If the citizen messes up, it's going to be on tape,” Cochran said.
Another plus is the addition of a second camera. In the past, if an officer had a suspect in the back, they would have to turn their camera around to get a view. However, the camera was partially blocked by the passenger seat and the cage. Now, a camera is mounted in the backseat. Officers can watch the suspect while still recording the front view at the same time.
Officers can turn the camera system off. However, Cochran says strict policies are in place regarding when the stop button can be pressed. A violation could get an officer fired.
Each video clip is viewed by detectives. Soon, the camera will be able to send live video back to headquarters, where supervisors can watch what happens, as it happens.
The department is converting patrol cars in East Austin first. A dozen patrol units and one motorcycle officer are already using the equipment; 38 cars should have it by mid-April. Thirty-eight more patrol units will be complete by the end of April or first of May.
Every patrol car in the city and 10 motorcycle officers will have the digital recording systems by this time next year.
The cost is $5,500 per car.
