Local police using body-worn cameras

There is renewed debate about police, race and violence after a series of deadly shootings around the country.

Two local departments are now using body-worn cameras to provide a better picture of who is right and who is wrong when a police call turns violent.

Indio Police Sgt. Dan Marshall says his department’s patrol officers are all wearing body-worn cameras.

In many cases, he says onlookers get a short video of part of a call that turns violent and the body-worn cameras provide the officer’s perspective from the beginning of the call.

He showed us one call in Indio where an officer was confronting a man believed to be involved in an armed robbery.

On the video, the officer repeatedly tells the suspect to sit down and show his hands.

The suspect refuses until a CHP officer providing backup stuns the man with non-lethal force.

At that point, police found the man had a pistol-gripped shotgun in his pants.

The man has since been convicted in the case.

Marshall says, “Across the nation, these cameras show 99 percent of the time officers doing the right things, exactly what they’re supposed to be doing.”

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is also using body-worn cameras in a test in Jurupa Valley with plans to add them department-wide.

Chief Deputy Kevin Vest agrees with Marshall, saying, “The history over the last 10 years of evolving portable video technology has shown that often there’s much more to an incident than a narrow sliver of time.”

Both departments have detailed policies on body-worn cameras.

There are some big differences.

Indio police will release the video on a case-by-case basis. The Sheriff’s Department has a similar policy but Chief Deputy Vest explains, “We don’t want to release these items unless we’re compelled to do so through a court order.”

Indio police will allow officers to view the video when they are facing an investigation for a “critical incident” like a shooting.

The Sheriff’s Department will not allow deputies to view the video until after providing a statement to investigators in similar cases.

Both departments say the cameras are working.

Chief Deputy Vest says, “What we’ve noticed so far is the number of complaints has dropped down substantially and also the use of force has also declined.”

The Sheriff’s Department is hoping to get a federal grant this fall to continue expanding its program.

There is one potential stumbling block.

The Riverside Sheriff’s Association, representing deputies, is challenging the department’s policy, claiming the county didn’t bargain in good faith when developing it.

The attorney for the union says the litigation is ongoing.

The Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs departments are interested in body-worn cameras but don’t have them yet.

Cathedral City is testing four cameras with plans to choose one technology and move ahead, possibly within the next year.