Body Cameras for Cops Well Worth the Expense
Posted without opinion, bias or edited.
By: Brad Linzy
As the recent George Madison incident, which generated national news [1], has indicated something is seriously amiss in the guidelines and procedures of the Evansville Police Department.
In a recently email obtained by the CCO, Chief Billy Bolin of the EPD acknowledged the existence of  body cameras purchased by the EPD, reportedly through the use of drug seizure money, currently gathering dust in their original boxes in storage.
“The problem is the cameras that were purchased,†Bolin said in the email, “were very cheap and do not work well. They have scan disk cards that can be removed and edited by the officer, rather than an internal storage that can be downloaded.â€
Obviously, any effective body camera procedure would need to include tamper-proof cameras. Through a FOIA request, the available body camera evidence of the Madison incident was released to the public, but only shows the latter portion of the incident after Madison was already handcuffed. The allegations of intimidation and threats with a Taser, which allegedly came earlier, were not shown.
Clearly this is a failure of what SHOULD be standard procedure, where all officers are required to wear and use body cameras for all interactions with the public. No such procedure currently exists, according to Bolin.
The technology is now advanced enough and cheap enough that there is little excuse in this day and age for not requiring body cameras as standard issue and procedure for police departments. This small change in policy could have hugely beneficial consequences for the EPD and the community.
The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Department has already announced it will be requiring Deputies to wear body cameras to avert incidents and provide unbiased evidence. [2]
A recent 12-month-long study by Police Foundation found that wearing cameras was associated with dramatic reductions in use-of-force and complaints against officers. The authors conclude: “The findings suggest more than a 50% reduction in the total number of incidents of use-of-force compared to control-conditions and nearly ten times more citizens’ complaints in the 12-months prior to the experiment.” [3]
These are truly staggering results – the kinds of results that are, dare I say it, revolutionary!
According to Evansville City Councilman John Friend, the newer, tamper-proof body cameras may cost the city in excess of $1000 each, but the cost could be partially offset if the old cameras still in boxes can be returned for credit. There are over 200 officers in the EPD, which would bring the total expense for the cameras to $200,000 plus disregarding any credit for the old cameras. The cost of one litigation against an errant officer could easily exceed that amount, making this one public expense well worth looking into.
Sources:
2:Â http://www.wdrb.com/story/23313246/sw-ind-sheriff-deputies-will-use-body-cameras
3:Â http://www.policefoundation.org/content/body-worn-camera
IS IT TRUE “Friends of Mayor Winnecke” Sends out Solicitation after Dunn Pulls Support for charities that support Hotel Subsidy
The following solicitation for donations of $10 and up was distributed today by a group of six charities that vocally advocated for the giving away of $37.5 Million to HCW to build a convention in downtown Evansville.
The Hunden Study that was commissioned by and paid for by the Office of the Mayor explicitly states that 70% of the business that a new 253 room hotel will attract will come from cannibalizing the existing hotels.
The “Mole Awards†Committee selects Mary Hart as a “Mole Award†winner for 2013
Ron Cosby, Chairman of the Board of the City-County Observer, announced Pigeon Township Trustee Mary Hart as a 2013 “Mole Awards†winner after meeting with the “Mole Awards†Committee early in the week. The committee selected Mary for the award because of her many years of dedication to the Pigeon Township Trustee position and to those that benefit from the serves offered by her offices. Mary’s passion, undying commitment, open door policy, and her kindhearted approach the those she serves testifies to the beneficial impact that a well run trustee’s office can have on any community. Mary has held many leadership positions throughout the Democratic Party over the years, and was recently re-elected to be president of the Indiana Trustees Association for the eighth consecutive year. If every Trustee’s office in the state of Indiana were run similar to Mary Hart’s it is likely that the mainstream media and state officials would never consider doing away with the Trustee’s Offices state-wide.
We are pleased to announce that Vanderburgh County Commissioner Stephen Melcher has graciously accepted our invitation to present Mrs. Hart her award at our annual luncheon. Mary is the sixth person selected this year for the prestigious “Mole Award.†She joins the Honorable Judges Brett Niemeier and Wayne Trockman as well as Indiana Senator Vaneta Becker. Matthew Burkhart of Newburgh and Ben Trockman of Evansville have also been selected as recipients for 2013.
Indiana Senator Vaneta Becker was selected for her good public policy, seemingly endless committee work, and her many activities within the community. Judge Niemeier was selected for his work with Evansville’s youth and for his affiliation with the Alternative School. Judge Trockman has been selected for his fair public policy as well as for his work with Vanderburgh County’s first Drug Treatment Court and Matthew Burkhart and Ben Trockman have both been selected as a result of their work in reforming laws and standards of operation. Matthew Burkhart successfully lobbied for reform of Indiana’s child labor laws in respect to children under the age of 14 being able to umpire and referee sporting events, while Ben Trockman’s work has encouraged airline companies to re-examine their policies and standards of operation for the physically challenged wishing to travel.
This year’s “Mole Awards†Ceremony will be held on October 14 at 12 p.m. in the Walnut Room at the Tropicana Hotel. This year’s event marks the sixth annual ceremony to honor those promoting good public policy and commitment to the community. Invitation to the ceremony is by reservation only and this years event is shaping up to be another sold out affair. To place a reservation or with any other inquiries please contact Mollie Darke-Schreiver at (812) 760-4233 or reach her by email at mdarke07@yahoo.com.
Missy Mosby Asserts she has never heard of Vetting Effort, Gets Sharp Rebuke from Friend
Mosby’s email to John Friend
>>> Missy Mosby 09/03/13 5:23 AM >>>
John,
This is the first I am hearing of this and am concerned for not all Council Members are being included in these discussions. If this is what you need to allow us to vote on September 9th, then let’s move forward.
What’s your availability on Thursday to meet?
Hope you have a great day!
Missy Mosby
FC Tucker Emge Realtors
Councilman Friend’s Response
Missy,
I have been working on this for well over a month. Requests have been given numerous times. This has been my due diligence efforts together with Dr. Adams, assisted at times with Connie (Robinson). Oh, by the way, your comment in the public about the only thing I have NOT received is tax returns, is outright BS…I have spoken with Stan Wheeler, remember our rep on the ERC (Evansville Redevelopment Commission) asking if this information was given or obtained by the ERC, and, of course, his answer was NO. So, as it always seems, this City appears to have habits of not vetting, evidenced by Browning, Woodruff, Earthcare, and to some degree Kunkle. Regardless of what this Mayor is proclaiming, the TIF will be stretched to near capacity with this deal. [I refer you to the budget]. As I recall, this same thing happened with Earthcare, remember the thing you voted for without proper information and when I asked this Mayor to hold for only two weeks, his reply “will it really matter” is what I received. So, I told him my answer, no information, no vote, simple.
This project is extremely important to this community and it is very expensive. We have gone from $8 million, 220 rooms and NO DEBT to 253 rooms with $44 million in debt obligation [my grandchildren for 25 years will be paying as a result of our decision] of additional debt, [FYI – The total debt of this City in 2000 was 135 million and now is $380 million before we vote on the largest utility hike in it’s history] no not 37.5, they forgot to tell the public about the Interest During Construction, bond council costs, underwriting, those sort of things, just an oversight I am sure.
So, if there is a delay on the vote, don’t get on my backside. They have had this demand for some time, and as it always seems, this council is blamed. My question is when are we going to start receiving from this administration, what by LAW we are entitled to receive, without having a million strings attached, remember the term DELIBERATIVE which seems to pop up from time to time. So, in conclusion, you have your way of due diligence and I have mine and if I don’t receive the data, well, where is the fire??
Have a great day!
John
THE EVANSVILLE LOCAL PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT BOND BANK
SEPTEMBER 5, 2013 AT 1:00 P.M.
Room 307
CIVIC CENTER COMPLEX
One N.W. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard
Evansville, Indiana
The Board of Directors of The Evansville Local Public Improvement Bond Bank will meet to conduct such business as may properly come before it on
September 5, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. in Room 307 of the Civic Center Complex,  One N.W. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Evansville, Indiana.
For further information, contact Russell G. Lloyd Jr., City Controller,    Room 300, Civic Center Complex, One N.W. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Evansville, Indiana 47708-1833; Telephone: (812) 436-4919.
Councilman Weaver Obstructs Vetting of Hotel Deal
In a series of emails regarding the release of the data requested by City Councilman John Friend by the Office of Mayor, the City County Observer has learned that the Mayor’s office and the Evansville Department of Metropolitan Development are satisfied with the due diligence that has been done already and are eager to move ahead with approval of the $37.5 Million grant to HCW?
Councilman Friend however has called for a more comprehensive vetting procedure and has formally asked the Mayor’s office for a “grant application” package more typical of firms that conduct real world due diligence. The Office of the Mayor with the awareness that a super majority (6 or 7) of the Evansville City Council agree with Councilman Friend that real due diligence needs to be completed prior to a vote is not only cooperating with Councilman Friend’s request but is encouraging HCW to cooperate as well.
Council members Jonathan Weaver and Missy Mosby have gone on record all along that they will support the deal as it is and as it has been vetted to date echoing the sentiments of the Office of the Mayor. Councilman Weaver rather than favoring the additional vetting fired off a couple of contentious emails questioning the decision to hire Crowe Horwath to assist in the vetting process accusing Councilman Friend and City Council President Connie Robinson doing a behind closed doors deal to make that choice.
Councilman Weaver has a point that this decision was not made in a public forum and the details of the costs are not known. This being the case and the fact that a super-majority of the City Council support vetting doing this publicly can only lead to a further delay in taking a vote. The first opportunity to have an open discussion on hiring a 3rd party to conduct the vetting is next Monday’s City Council meeting pushing an actual up or down vote on the hotel further into the future.
VANDERBURGH COUNTY FELONY CHARGES
Below is a list of felony cases that were filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office on Friday, August 30, 2013.
Mark Garrett                Operating a Motor Vehicle after Forfeiture of License for Life-Class C Felony
Sean King                        Domestic Battery-Class A Misdemeanor
(Enhanced to D Felony Due to Prior Convictions)
Domestic Battery-Class D Felony
Resisting Law Enforcement-Class A Misdemeanor
Garrett Mullen              Theft-Class D Felony
For further information on the cases listed above, or any pending case, please contact Kyle Phernetton at 812.435.5688 or via e-mail at KPhernetton@vanderburghgov.org
Under Indiana law, all criminal defendants are considered to be innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.