Post by thunderlips on Jun 4, 2014 15:07:13 GMT -5
Nassau police to try dashboard, body cameras
June 4, 2014 by ROBERT BRODSKY / robert.brodsky@newsday.com
Kevan Abrahams, along with legislative colleagues, in Mineola
The Nassau County Police Department will launch a pilot program to install dashboard cameras on patrol vehicles and require officers to wear body cameras that capture their interaction with the public.
The program -- part of an 18-month overhaul of the police department's ethics policies by a Washington-based firm -- was disclosed less than an hour after Democrats in the county legislature announced legislation calling for a dashboard and body cameras pilot program.
The department's policy shift comes in the wake of the alleged beating of a Westbury man by two Nassau County police officers during an April 25 traffic stop caught on video.
One of the officers involved, Vincent LoGiudice, was charged Tuesday with two felony counts of second-degree assault and one count of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. He pleaded not guilty.
In a statement on Wednesday, Nassau police spokesman Kenneth Lack said the county "will test and review this new technology with the assistance of two private-sector companies."
The department offered no further details about the scope or timing of the program or why it had not been previously disclosed.
At a news conference Wednesday in front of Nassau police headquarters, Democrats in the legislative minority said the cameras would enhance the public's trust in the police department.
"Body cameras and dashboard cameras have been in existence for over a decade," said Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport). "It's time that Nassau County catches up with the rest of the country."
The legislation would direct the department to install dashboard cameras in both marked and unmarked patrols cars and motorcycles assigned to the county's three busiest precincts -- the First Precinct in Baldwin, the Third Precinct in Williston Park and the Fourth Precinct in Hewlett.
Body cameras, which record both audio and video, would also be mounted on officers from those same three precincts, the bill states.
Presiding Officer Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow) said the bill is not needed.
"Mr. Abrahams is a day late and a dollar short," Gonsalves said. "Had he invited us or the police department to his press conference, he'd have known that County Executive [Edward] Mangano and the police department are already exploring body and dash cameras in a pilot program."
Gonsalves said the cameras will be funded through the police department's asset-forfeiture funds.
Abrahams responded: "I don't deem it a coincidence that they announced this today after we filed our resolution. I am glad that they are proceeding, but I hope it is as comprehensive a pilot program as the bill we filed today."
Nassau Police Benevolent Association president James Carver said he's concerned that the body cameras could capture an officer's interaction with minors or victims of domestic violence.
"I have some privacy concerns," said Carver, who was not aware of the county's pilot program. "We should carefully study this issue. It should not be a knee-jerk reaction."
Members of a specialized police unit that targeted drunken drivers had dashboard cameras mounted in their patrol cars from 2009 until the unit was disbanded in 2011, Carver said.
Suffolk County has dashboard cameras in its Highway Patrol Bureau vehicles that target DWI arrests.
In New York City, cameras are not standard issue for NYPD officers or their vehicles. But to settle stop-and-frisk litigation, the city earlier this year agreed to implement a judge's order to begin a pilot program requiring cops to wear body cameras. Commissioner Bill Bratton said earlier this year that the department is looking into the cameras.
With Matthew Chayes
June 4, 2014 by ROBERT BRODSKY / robert.brodsky@newsday.com
Kevan Abrahams, along with legislative colleagues, in Mineola
The Nassau County Police Department will launch a pilot program to install dashboard cameras on patrol vehicles and require officers to wear body cameras that capture their interaction with the public.
The program -- part of an 18-month overhaul of the police department's ethics policies by a Washington-based firm -- was disclosed less than an hour after Democrats in the county legislature announced legislation calling for a dashboard and body cameras pilot program.
The department's policy shift comes in the wake of the alleged beating of a Westbury man by two Nassau County police officers during an April 25 traffic stop caught on video.
One of the officers involved, Vincent LoGiudice, was charged Tuesday with two felony counts of second-degree assault and one count of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. He pleaded not guilty.
In a statement on Wednesday, Nassau police spokesman Kenneth Lack said the county "will test and review this new technology with the assistance of two private-sector companies."
The department offered no further details about the scope or timing of the program or why it had not been previously disclosed.
At a news conference Wednesday in front of Nassau police headquarters, Democrats in the legislative minority said the cameras would enhance the public's trust in the police department.
"Body cameras and dashboard cameras have been in existence for over a decade," said Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport). "It's time that Nassau County catches up with the rest of the country."
The legislation would direct the department to install dashboard cameras in both marked and unmarked patrols cars and motorcycles assigned to the county's three busiest precincts -- the First Precinct in Baldwin, the Third Precinct in Williston Park and the Fourth Precinct in Hewlett.
Body cameras, which record both audio and video, would also be mounted on officers from those same three precincts, the bill states.
Presiding Officer Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow) said the bill is not needed.
"Mr. Abrahams is a day late and a dollar short," Gonsalves said. "Had he invited us or the police department to his press conference, he'd have known that County Executive [Edward] Mangano and the police department are already exploring body and dash cameras in a pilot program."
Gonsalves said the cameras will be funded through the police department's asset-forfeiture funds.
Abrahams responded: "I don't deem it a coincidence that they announced this today after we filed our resolution. I am glad that they are proceeding, but I hope it is as comprehensive a pilot program as the bill we filed today."
Nassau Police Benevolent Association president James Carver said he's concerned that the body cameras could capture an officer's interaction with minors or victims of domestic violence.
"I have some privacy concerns," said Carver, who was not aware of the county's pilot program. "We should carefully study this issue. It should not be a knee-jerk reaction."
Members of a specialized police unit that targeted drunken drivers had dashboard cameras mounted in their patrol cars from 2009 until the unit was disbanded in 2011, Carver said.
Suffolk County has dashboard cameras in its Highway Patrol Bureau vehicles that target DWI arrests.
In New York City, cameras are not standard issue for NYPD officers or their vehicles. But to settle stop-and-frisk litigation, the city earlier this year agreed to implement a judge's order to begin a pilot program requiring cops to wear body cameras. Commissioner Bill Bratton said earlier this year that the department is looking into the cameras.
With Matthew Chayes
