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When are police required to use their body worn videos and dashcams? (self.seattle)

submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by poopsmith to c/seattle

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I submitted a video request for any body worn video and in-car footage for the incident where SPD officer Anthony Belgarde pulled over a bus in West Seattle. But I was told by Edward Ocampo that no video existed for this incident. Is this a normal practice, to not record any video during a traffic stop?

Edit: I filed a complaint as I believe this violates 16.090-POL-2, where cops in uniform performing traffic stops are required to have their cameras on.

Edit 2: I did not get a confirmation email though.

Edit 3: had to email them again to get a complaint number

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[–] cedarmesa 13 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Sadly you already know the answer, whenever they damn well please. Video incriminating for citizen, on. Video incriminating for cop, off.

[–] RedditWanderer 3 points 5 months ago

Yep, not sure for bodycams but when they say "anything you say can and will be held against you", they actually also specifically mean it cannot be used to help you.

I often see cops discussing the camera being on or not when videos do surface, and to me that should be immediate grounds for disciplinary action.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

You would need to ask the department for a copy of its policies to see. The ones I have seen say the officer should have it on for every interaction with the public, but sometimes they forget and some other times they "forget".

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago

That comes down to the policies of each individual police department. They're all different.