Camas police to begin wearing body cameras

The Camas Police Department will begin a full-time body worn camera program starting in April, Chief Mitch Lackey recently announced.

The department contracted with the AXON company last fall for the equipment, including software and data storage, which is necessary for a body worn camera program to meet the new state requirements for recording custodial interviews.

Now, the department is ready to take the next step and institute a full, body-worn camera program, which will allow officers record all of their field actions.

In February 2021, Clark County Prosecutor Tony Golik and the Clark County prosecutor’s Action and Reform Committee put out a joint letter to the community and all local governments stressing the importance of implementing body-worn camera programs for all local law enforcement agencies. In addition to being a valuable tool for prosecutors, body worn cameras also build community trust by demonstrating transparency and openness into the way police officers carry out their duties, the Camas Police Department stated in a news release about the body-worn camera program.

Golik recently praised the Camas Police Department for being the first to establish the program locally.

“I want to thank the Camas Police Department for their leadership in implementing a body-worn camera system,” Golik said. “The prosecutor’s office is in strong support of body camera systems. Our office’s mission to seek justice is a shared mission with law enforcement agencies. Our joint mission will be furthered through evidence that will be gathered by body cameras. Law enforcement body cameras systems are a critical tool that will help ensure the public has confidence in our community’s criminal justice system. The Camas Police Department should be congratulated for moving forward on body cameras.”

While Camas police officers possessed the AXON equipment for the more limited purpose of the custodial recordings mandated by the state, there was always a plan to move toward implementing a full body-worn camera program, which is the program that will begin next month.

“I am extremely grateful to former Mayor Ellen Burton, current Mayor Steve Hogan, as well as the entire Camas City Council, for their support for this program,” said Camas Police Chief Mitch Lackey. “Without their guidance, and budgetary support, we would not have been able to successfully bring this to the community.”

Last year, the Camas City Council authorized a five-year lease with AXON for the equipment and data storage, in the amount of $311,168. In addition to the equipment costs, there will be some increased staffing needs in the police department’s records unit who will handle the public records requests for the videos. The department hopes to add a full-time police records clerk later this year to meet that need.

The City was able to fund the start-up of the body worn camera program through a combination of general fund dollars and one-time revenue provided by the state of Washington for criminal justice purposes. The police department has also applied for grants, but has not yet received any grant funding for the program.

Over the past few months, the department administration and City management team worked closely with the labor group representing Camas police officers to develop a body-worn camera policy, providing officers guidance on when they’re expected to use their cameras, and in what settings that they are allowed to turn the cameras off.

Officers will now begin training on the new program in small groups and will start wearing the cameras immediately after completing their training. The community may notice some officer with cameras, and others without during this initial period. Chief Lackey has said all Camas officers will likely complete the training by the end of April.

The video data created by the body worn camera program is stored by the AXON company and is retained for the period of time mandated by the Washington State Archivist. Depending on what type of incident was captured on the video, the retention of that video is mandated for varying amounts of time.

“This is a big step for the Camas Police Department, and more importantly, the right step,” Lackey said. “Our officers do outstanding work each and every day in this community and these cameras will now document that work for all to see. In law enforcement, disputes do sometimes arise about what was done, what was said or what actually happened. These cameras will now create a video record that should help resolve some of those disputes.”