If you hear the word “body camera” in the news it typically is linked to high-stress situations: police shootings, assaults, or other headline grabbing news.
In Washtenaw County, where new cameras were quietly rolled out roughly four months ago, the department is trying to change the narrative — welcoming the public to come out and interact with deputies, see the cameras, and discuss how they’re being used.
Chief Deputy Greg Bazick has a history with body cameras, before working with the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office he helped roll out the cameras being used by Ann Arbor police. These days he’s working with new equipment based on his knowledge and previous experiences: he told 7 Action News that he believes the equipment now being used in the field can be a helpful tool in numerous circumstances.
“It helps to de-escalate situations most of time,” explained Bazick. “If things can’t, or don’t, de-escalate you do at least have one account, view of it… that’s fairly objective.”
The current model of body cameras being worn by Washtenaw County deputies, detectives and corrections officers are made by Axon — the company formerly known for creating tasers. The department has even begun to test additional equipment for them that automatically turns on cameras whenever a taser is deployed, or a gun is unlocked from a holster.
The body cameras don’t record continuously, but has the ability to reach back 30 seconds before the record button is hit — meaning when triggered by a deputy deploying a taser, or removing a gun from his or her holster the camera will automatically document the events leading up to that moment. Deputies are also trained to begin recording whenever they interact with someone — all the data going to a cloud-based server which can’t be edited by the officer, but can only be retrieved by those with authorization. Each time someone access the video a system of computer documents who accessed it, and when.
While the technology has become more common, the reality is that body camera use varies from department to department across the country. The kinks are still being worked out, including privacy rights. It’s part of the reason Washtenaw County wanted to be pro-active and include a listening session to speak directly to the community.
“With this technology, like any other, there are unintended consequences,” said Bazick. “I don’t mean that in a negative context, but there are things you cannot anticipate in spite of the best research before you roll it out.”
The hope is to open a dialogue with the community so concerned residents know more about how body cameras are being used. Those who are simply curious are invited as well.
The body camera listening session is the sixth educational event held by the Sheriff’s Office in recent months. The event will be held Thursday, September 28th at the Ypsilanti District Library on Whittaker Road. The session will last from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. It is free to attend.
