Now you can't say you didn't know
Fairfax to pay falsely accused teacher $73,000
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — The Fairfax County School Board has agreed to pay more than $72,000 in legal fees to teacher Sean Lanigan, who was falsely accused, jailed and then acquitted of molesting a 12-year-old girl, ending a lawsuit Lanigan filed to recover most of his costs.
The county's payout is $72,838, although that does not include fees for the lawyers Fairfax hired to fight Lanigan's request for nearly a year, nor does it include the fees Lanigan incurred to obtain the reimbursement.
Defending himself against two felony sex abuse charges in 2010 cost Lanigan, 45, about $125,000. State law allows a county or state employee who is cleared of criminal charges to recover legal fees and expenses but not other costs, which for Lanigan were about $18,000. Court records show Lanigan first sought $107,838 for his fees and expenses in July 2010, two months after his acquittal in Fairfax County Circuit Court.
Eight months later, the school board voted to offer Lanigan $60,000. Lanigan then sued for the entire amount.
With a trial date approaching, the school board agreed in a closed session Thursday to pay $72,838: Lanigan's original request, minus $35,000 he received in an insurance payment from the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers union, a school official and Lanigan's lawyer said.
Lanigan said Friday that he is not satisfied with how the settlement came to a close.
"This has been two years of long work," Lanigan said. "It does not make me financially whole, and it's not as if the court case never happened."
He acknowledged that state law did not require Fairfax to reimburse his full costs, "but if they wanted to truly back their teacher, they would take care of me," Lanigan said.
John Torre, a Fairfax schools spokesman, said in a statement that the school board agreed to cover Lanigan's legal fees that were not already paid to him by his union insurance policy.
The school board and Lanigan "reached a settlement on essentially the same terms that were offered to him last November," Torre said in the statement.
William Reichhardt, Lanigan's attorney, strongly disagreed with the claim that the terms were "essentially the same" as in November, but he declined to discuss specifics.
"It took an extremely lengthy period of time to get to this result," Reichhardt said, "which as far as I'm concerned could have been done long before last November."
Thomas Cawley, the lead attorney for the school board, did not return a message seeking comment.
Lanigan, a married father of three, was a well-respected physical education teacher at Centre Ridge Elementary School in Centreville, the boys soccer coach at Herndon High School and a coach of various other youth soccer teams. In January 2010, a sixth-grade student at Centre Ridge told her parents that Lanigan had picked her up in the school gymnasium, briefly fondled her, then carried her to an equipment room and lay "kind of on top of her" on a stack of tumbling mats, according to a police report.
The incident happened while three other children were in the gym with school in session, the girl said.
The girl's parents reported the complaint to school officials, who called police. But Fairfax child sex crimes detectives Nicole Christian and Rich Mullins did not interview the girl, instead watching as she was interviewed by a county social worker. Witnesses said Lanigan had reprimanded the girl for verbally abusing younger children, that she faced the loss of her positions as a safety patrol and in-school news reporter, and that she told them: "Mr. Lanigan's a jerk. I'm going to make him pay."
School employees also testified that tumbling mats were not kept in the room where the girl said she was taken, and that such mats would not fit in the cramped space.
The detectives interviewed a friend of the accuser who corroborated her account. Two boys also in the gym said they didn't see anything. The detectives interviewed Lanigan, who said he might have picked the girl up, but that he didn't fondle or lay on her.
Christian obtained warrants charging Lanigan with abduction and aggravated sexual battery of a child under 13, and ordered him to surrender on a Friday afternoon. He was not able to appear before a judge for four days, time he spent in the Fairfax County jail as an accused child molester. Fairfax police issued a news release with his photo and home address, and the allegation attracted local media attention.
Fairfax Police Chief David M. Rohrer said Friday he could not comment on the case.
Don't worry Sharon, there is still plenty of cash to go around under the table
Lanigan's lawyers investigated and thought they could persuade Fairfax Commonwealth's Attorney Raymond F. Morrogh to drop the case. But Morrogh refused, having previously prosecuted another popular teacher who eventually pleaded guilty to molesting a student. Morrogh did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
Lanigan testified at trial that he did not molest the girl. The girl admitted telling her friends she "hated" Lanigan, and she clarified that he did not lay on top of her, but rather over her. The case went to the jury with Lanigan facing a possible 40 years in prison.
The jury took 47 minutes to acquit Lanigan of both charges.
But Fairfax schools declined to allow Lanigan back into Centre Ridge, instead reassigning him to South Lakes High School.
When the school district stalled on Lanigan's request for financial reimbursement, he agreed to tell his story to The Washington Post, which was featured in an article last year in April. Lanigan said the article caused him to receive thousands of dollars in donations to help defray his costs, and he and his wife were featured on NBC's "Today" show.
The settlement of the suit does not cover Lanigan's legal costs for the current case, which neither he nor Reichhardt would disclose. The county's legal fees were not available Friday.
Now you can’t say you didn’t know what the Fairfax County Cops were doing
Virginia Supreme Court hears
appeal in case over police use of GPS tracking
RICHMOND, Va. —
A lawyer for a sex offender asked the Virginia Supreme Court to reverse his
client’s conviction, arguing that evidence in the case was inadmissible because
police illegally used an electronic tracking device to monitor the man’s
movements without first obtaining a search warrant.
Christopher
Leibig told the court Thursday that the Virginia Court of Appeals wrongly
upheld David Foltz’s conviction in Fairfax County in 2008 of abduction with
intent to defile.
The U.S.
Supreme Court ruled this January that police cannot install GPS technology to
track suspects without a warrant.
Why Police Oversight isn’t the answer.
Let’s pretend for a moment that the
members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors weren’t intimidated by the
police and suddenly decided on creating a police oversight panel for the
county.
What would change?
Would the chief of police suddenly
become competent?
Would Lucy Caldwell miraculously
become an intelligent person?
Would the Fairfax County cops stop
breathing through their mouths and be less insolent, thuggish or brutal?
No, none of that would happen.
None of that would happen because
the culture that creates and breeds the incompetence, stupidity and punk
behavior by the Fairfax County Police would go untouched by an oversight board
and the cops know it. They know that as long as we keep electing weasels to the
board of supervisors, police reform is all talk and will never be anything but
talk.
Police oversight is the grand
magical cure-brought to us by dull witted, unimaginative people who have spent
their careers in government and because of that, they can’t think outside the
box, they can’t see the larger picture and have absolutely no idea how true
life or good management works….kinda like the people we keep electing to sit on
the board of supervisors. No, wait, that’s exactly like the people we keep
electing to the board of supervisors.
Besides, the board of supervisors
will never, ever, get behind an effective oversight board. They might help
create one designed to fail, but never, ever, will they allow one that could
actually do anything effective. You know why? For the same reason the cops
don’t want oversight. Power. Human beings don’t willfully give up power so they
certainly are not going to get on the police oversight bandwagon. So give that
up.
But, again, it doesn’t matter.
Police oversight changes nothing because it happens after the milk has been
spilled. But changing the culture of contempt and entitlement within the police
department stops the milk from having been spilled in the first place.
The simplest way to get the cops in
line and create effective change is to require them to wear body cameras.
Cameras put an end to “he said, she said”.
The punks who populate the ranks of
the Fairfax County Police will be gone within a year after cameras are
introduced, and you know why? Not because they’ll get caught on film smart
mouthing and/or threatening a citizen. They’ll quit before they get caught. Low
lifes are survivors and their primary concern is themselves. They know that
they lack the intelligence to keep themselves out of trouble, so they’ll leave.
Those who stay will get caught on film within a year or two.
Another way to effect change is to
make the cops bond and insure themselves under a mandate that when they murder
(another) citizen or delve into unlawful behavior under our good name, and
those actions can be proven in court, let their insurance cover the cost. Why
should we pay for their idiocy? Okay, aside from the fact that we knew they weren’t
the best and the brightest when we hired them and we should pay some portion
for poor hiring practices, why should we pay for their idiocy?
Here’s another very good idea. Dump
this chief of police. He was born and bred in the system and lacks the depth to
understand the problems he’s created and the piss poor legacy that he is a part
of. He just doesn’t get it. Bring in an outsider who isn’t married to the
concept of running an 18th century police force in the 21st century and watch
how quickly the police force shapes up.
Another sure fire way to get the
cops in line is to make public all documents that should be made public. Take
away the Fairfax County cops unlawful power to use the “Secret” stamp on
virtually everything and anything they deal with. As part of that, once a cop
has been reprimanded, make the reprimand public and keep it in his/her file
forever. Don’t take it out after six months. Do that…enhance the threat of
being fired for bad behavior, and watch how very, very quickly everything changes.
Lastly, make police reform in
Fairfax County a political issue. Find, support and run candidates to run on a
police reform platform. There are enough people in the county to make it a
front issue. Then watch how quickly the weasels who are in office now will
suddenly understand the need to make changes to the bloated and political
Fairfax County Police Department .
Lucy’s back. Board of Supervisors Questions police action and demands less secrecy.
Fairfax County police spokes “woman”
Lucy Caldwell. …. you remember Lucy…she was the one who threw a fit with a
local reporter when the reporter dared to question citizens reaction to yet
another murder by the Fairfax County Police……well, Lucy and her hair trigger
temper and contempt for a free press are
back on the job as the police information officer. Here’s the information Lucy gave out to the
media concerning this week’s questionable shooting of a Mount Vernon area
citizen.
What is the dead man’s name?
I’m not releasing that
information
How many cops were at the
scene of the shooting?
I’m not sure.
How many were inside the
residence when the shooting occurred?
I’m not sure.
How many shots were fired?
I can’t say.
What is the victim name?
I’m not going to reveal that
information.
Members of the Fairfax County
Board of Supervisors expressed deep concerns of a second questionable shooting
of a citizen by the Fairfax County Police in less than a month and over the
lack of transparency by the cops in releasing even the most mundane information
about the killing.
Naw…the last part didn’t
happen. Pretty much our elected
officials are far too intimidated by the police to actually stand up to them.
We’re on our own.
At what point do you think we should have a police oversight board?
By Fredrick Kunkle, Published: May 21, The Washington Post
Some of Fairfax County’s most vulnerable people, and the nonprofit organizations and charities that serve them, fear that a key social services agency’s $8 million budget deficit could jeopardize programs for at-risk children and people with mental illness, intellectual disabilities and substance abuse problems.
….but what really matters is the almost
$400,000,000
the police get to underwrite a navy and air force.
Do something.
In the past 12 months…………………
October 24, 2011 Fairfax Cop arrested for drunk driving
November 14, 2011, two Fairfax cops accused of beating an unarmed man walking home from work. The man has entered suit against the county, so we'll pay for what the cops do wrong. The cops? Doesn't cost them a dime.
September 2011, Fairfax cop charged with domestic assault
Feb 2012, several Fairfax County cops accused of beating up teenager in a McDonalds.
March 2012 Police Captain gets a five figure pay out due to interoffice pissing match
March 2012, a cop who “Resigned from the force for reasons that can not be released” two years ago, killed himself and teenage daughter with a pistol.
May 2012: Fairfax cop arrested for sexual assault.
And those only the incidents the cops HAD to explain to the public…
Sharon, we'll show the money if you read this article, you could learn something
Bristol Councilman: Don't Reward
Police Misconduct
They
couldn't block a disability pension for troubled Police Officer Marc
Blazejowski, but council Republicans want to keep him from getting a
ceremonial retirement badge.
"I
don't think he has earned the right to this," member Ken Cockayne said at
a council meeting Tuesday night.
Blazejowski,
whose 12-year career was marred by erratic behavior and a long series of
disciplinary actions, was awarded a disability pension by the police board last
month. It will pay him 70 percent of his salary.
Several
council Republicans were outraged that the police board approved the payments,
saying the city should have fired him and then fought any resulting lawsuit in
court. Cockayne and Councilman Henri Martin have estimated that Blazejowski,
34, will cost the pension fund $2 million or more over the course of his lifetime.
But
the council has no standing to overturn the police board's decision. However,
Cockayne said the city should skip its usual custom of giving a ceremonial
badge. The council agreed Tuesday night to put off the decision for a month,
but also voted to direct city officials not to give him the badge in the
meantime.
Cockayne
pressed Personnel Director Diane Ferguson to explain publicly how the city will
prevent future cases like Blazejowski's.
"I'm
sure these matters going forward will be handled more aggressively," she
said.
Despite
internal affairs reports that showed an extensive pattern of deeply troubling
behavior in 2006, then-Chief John DiVenere didn't fire Blazejowski. DiVenere
also let him stay on the job after police in Florida charged him with a felony
in 2010. Ferguson, DiVenere and Mayor Art Ward have all offered varying
explanations for why that happened.
Cockayne
was the only council member who ever publicly challenged DiVenere during years
of scandals, misconduct and coverups in the police department. After DiVenere
retired under pressure, the city promoted Eric Osanitsch, a widely respected
commander who is credited with rebuilding morale and restoring discipline in
the department.
Show Sharon the money and get her to read this
County police review panel pushed
May 7, 2012 12:18 am
Allegheny County Councilman
Bill Robinson says he will push for creation of a countywide citizens police
review board similar to the agency already operating in Pittsburgh.
His proposal would be one
element of what he describes as a multi-pronged effort to hold law enforcement
officials more accountable to the people they serve.
"I want to make sure
that everybody is playing by the same rules," he told his council
colleagues last week. "Nobody, including police officers, should be above
the law."
He made those remarks at a
council meeting where he introduced and then withdrew an advisory motion
calling for a special state prosecutor to look into police misconduct anywhere
in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Robinson, D-Hill
District, said he planned to resubmit his proposal as a resolution, which would
require two votes by council to take effect. Both the withdrawn motion and
planned resolution would call on the state Legislature to require the
appointment of a special prosecutor to look at all claims of police abuse.
The impetus behind Mr.
Robinson's recommendation is the case of Jordan Miles. Supporters of Mr. Miles
say three white Pittsburgh police officers used excessive force in their
efforts to subdue the young black man in January 2010. Mr. Miles, who had just
turned 18 and was an honor student at Pittsburgh School for the Creative and
Performing Arts, was walking to his grandmother's house in Homewood. They
describe his case as an example of racial profiling.
Police said Mr. Miles
appeared to be carrying a weapon, although none was found, and had fled from
the plainclothes officers, who tackled him.
While an organization
called The Alliance for Police Accountability has held a series of rallies
around the city to demand that policemen involved in the case be criminally
charged, the U.S. attorney's office investigated the confrontation and declined
to prosecute the officers for civil rights violations.
Allegheny County District
Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said Friday his office is continuing its active
investigation into the case.
Mr. Robinson's proposal to
establish a citizens police review board would create an investigative and
advisory agency similar to the one created by Pittsburgh voters in a 1997
referendum.
There are more than 100
police departments and agencies across the county, Mr. Robinson said. The
county review board would be empowered to look into complaints from the public
about any of those departments, including city police, he said. The board would
then report its findings to county council, the county executive, individual
municipal leaders and the district attorney.
Mr. Robinson's call for
independent investigations of police conduct drew support from four speakers at
council's Tuesday meeting. They included Tim Stevens, former president of the
Pittsburgh NAACP and chairman of the Black Political Empowerment Project, or
B-PEP.
Mr. Zappala's investigation
of the Jordan Miles incident has gone on too long without a resolution, Mr.
Stevens said. "There are too many cases of alleged police abuse where no
action is taken," he said.
Mr. Zappala defended his
office's record on allegations of police misconduct.
Mr. Robinson's claim that
Mr. Zappala "had no history of prosecuting white police officers accused
of mistreating people of color" was flat-out wrong, the district attorney
said, citing two high-profile cases.
His office charged a
Pittsburgh Housing Authority police officer, John Charmo, in the 1995 shooting
death of a black man in the Armstrong Tunnel. Charmo pleaded guilty to
involuntary manslaughter in 2001.
In 1999, Mr. Zappala's
office charged city police officer Jeffrey Cooperstein with homicide in the
shooting death of a black man at a police checkpoint on Second Avenue. Mr.
Cooperstein was acquitted.
Both Charmo and Mr.
Cooperstein are white.
Elizabeth Pittinger,
executive director of Pittsburgh's Citizens Police Review Board, said a county
version of her agency was worth pursuing.
Her agency is restricted to
reviewing the actions of city police.
"We do receive
complaints from outlying areas about police conduct where people don't have any
recourse," she said. "A new county board could allow for an independent,
objective review of civilian complaints."
Had enough? Write to the Speaker of the House, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and demand federal
hearings into the police problem in America.
Demand mandatory body cameras for cops, one strike rule on abuse, and a
permanent DOJ office on Police
Misconduct.
We're taking up a fund to get Sharon the money to read this
Family and members of the police, military, clergy and White Plains Community packed the White Plains Common Council chambers Monday night asking for accountability and oversight in the White Plains Police Bureau.
“We are appalled and horrified with what appears to be no action taken on behalf of the White Plains Common Council and Police Commissioner David Chong to seek justice,” said Rev. Odinga Lawrence Maddox of Mt. Hope A.M.E. Zion Church, at the meeting on behalf of the Ministers Fellowship Council of White Plains.
Most who attended the “Citizens to be Heard” portion of meeting were there supporting the family of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.—who was shot and killed by White Plains Police on Nov. 19—and White Plains Officer Michael Hannon—who alleges that Assistant Police Chief Anne FitzSimmons assaulted and impaired him.
Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. is asking that all of the officers who responded to his 68-year-old father’s apartment at 135 S. Lexington that night be suspended pending the outcome of a federal investigation.
The Chamberlain family and lawyers said that Chamberlain, a heart patient, accidently set off his medical alert device and was harassed and taunted by police who responded to the call. They said police had no right to force their way into his apartment, since Chamberlain repeatedly told police that he was fine and didn’t need assistance.
They said the actions of the police is what caused Chamberlain to become upset, and lead to his eventual death.
Police said that they’ve visited Chamberlain’s apartment before and knew he was emotionally disturbed and had a criminal background. They said they weren’t sure if there was anyone else in the apartment, and had to make sure that all was well in the apartment before they left.
Once police attempted to break into the apartment, officers reported that Chamberlain threatened them verbally and with various knives causing police to use a Taser on him, then fire four bean bag rounds on him, which they said had no effect on him. According to police reports, Carelli was forced to fatally shot Chamberlain because he was coming at another officer with a knife.
Commissioner David Chong said Tuesday that all of the officers’ actions are being investigated administratively.
Officer Anthony Carelli—who fatally shot Chamberlain—and Officer Steven Hart—who is accused of calling Chamberlain the n-word—are on modified desk assignment duty for the time being. Both officers are involved in separate pending lawsuits, where they are accused of police brutality in incidents that allegedly also involve race.
Some have alleged that there is a pattern of abuse and racial discrimination in White Plains, to which Chong responded, “This department has a very good history of having a good relationship with the community and that has proved through our crime statistics and the low crime quality of life.”
Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore announced last week that there was no reason to indict city police in the shooting.
“The grand jury has spoken and we thank them for their due diligence,” said Chong. “Now it’s on me to do an administrative investigation.”
Chong has said the administrative investigation will include a review of the officers and their actions, as well as a look at police policies and procedures—including how they deal with mentally disturbed individuals.
The U.S. District Attorney’s Office will review the case, as is customary. The Chamberlain family said they also plan to file a federal civil rights wrongful death suit against the City of White Plains.
“The use of offensive terms by the neighborhood conditions unit, strongly suggest the existence of a bias mentality,” said Chamberlain Jr., at the meeting. “The lack of a criminal indictment also sends a message to the minorities of this city that their lives are worthless.”
DiFiore confirmed that officers used a racial slur during their encounter with Chamberlain—and according to The Daily News, said it was used as a tactic to distract Chamberlain.
Damon Jones, a New York representative for Blacks in Law Enforcement of America, said that the police department was in violation of its own policy in both the Chamberlain and Hannon incidents with the use of racial slurs, and lack of an internal investigation into FitzSimmons’ alleged actions and the use of violent behavior (see the attached PDF provided by Jones).
“You can’t expect the officers to act professionally with citizens and taxpayers in White Plains if the management of the police department is not setting a good example,” said Jones “They’re not following their own policy on how an officer should behave in the White Plains Police Department, so what do we expect if there is no accountability.”
Click on the video to hear Hannon’s account of the incident. He currently has a pending lawsuit against the city. Chong said the incident with FitzSimmons is a personell mater that the department is investigating, and will make a decision in that incident.
Jones, a correctional officer, also mentioned that in his 23 years of law enforcement he has disarmed many individuals who were in better health than Chamberlain and who had weapons, without having to take their lives.
The director for Occupy Marines, which represents 30,000 former and current U.S. Marines, Hairo Gonzalez, a.k.a. HyDro the People’s Hero, also spoke at the meeting saying, “Myself and the rest of the Marines, we demand justice—and we ain’t playin’.”
Others said they would like to see justice so that White Plains can heal from this tragic ordeal.
“We’re concerned about the soul of our city,” said Pastor Edward Williamson of Bethel Baptist Church. “We are being known as the place where the police shooting took place—and that’s not the image I would like for us to have as a city. That’s not the image we would like for our children to have, our youth who we want to cooperate and not fear police officers—but work with them as partners in the community.”
The White Plains Common Council approved the commissioning of an independent review panel of experts to study the White Plains Police Department, the incident, police actions, procedures and policies.
“We want a conclusion here of what happened, not just for the family involved, not for the police officers involved—but for the whole community,” said Roach. “And I can tell you now, the type of language you are talking about is unacceptable to be said by anybody who works for this city, but it’s got to go through its process.”
Sharon....what would you charge to read this?
With pensions, Medicaid and an
end-of-the-month adjournment on their minds, Illinois senators may not have
much interest in establishing yet another oversight panel for the East St.
Louis area.
But it's important that they enact
House Bill 1404, which would create a nonpaid oversight commission for the
police departments in East St. Louis, Brooklyn, Alorton and Washington Park.
The public's safety, in these communities and throughout the metro-east, should
improve because of it.
These communites have some of the
highest crime rates but are the least equipped to respond to it. In addition to
a lack of personnel and equipment they have histories of spotty leadership,
political interference and ethical issues. In the past year 18 felony charges
have been filed against law enforcers from these communities.
The result is that many criminals
are never caught or prosecuted. And since criminals are mobile, that can lead
to crime throughout the metro-east.
The commission would stress law
enforcement best practices and accountability in exchange for helping get more
resources for departments. If the communities want additional funds they will
have to follow the commission rules. For East St. Louis, one of the strings
attached to any money should be that bars and clubs close at a reasonable hour.
Even better than the oversight plan
are the people behind it. St. Clair County State's Attorney Brendan Kelly and
U.S. Attorney Steve Wigginton think this can be a way to improve the quality of
law enforcement and lower the crime rates. They have a stellar record of
creative solutions to longstanding problems, so this idea deserves a try. We
urge the state Senate to approve the bill
We're taking up a collection to pay Sharon to read this, we can probably at least match what the police union is paying not to read this
Aerial drones are law-enforcement tools that need formal
oversight
The Seattle Police Department needs to work through the
Seattle City Council to put the potential of aerial drones and their privacy
issues into regulated perspective.
Do it by ordinance, not by policy nods, promises and good intentions.
These unmanned aircraft systems are hot in law
enforcement for lots of reasons, some even related to crime fighting. Money is
available from the feds to pay for them, manufacturers are looking for new
markets, and, gee, the police and sheriffs in other states have them.
How the gear is used and evolves over time is the issue
that raises fundamental privacy concerns. Safety issues with the drones, either
aloft in airspace or over populated areas, is also a worry.
Sorting out the legalities of aerial surveillance is a concern.
Anyone out in the open does not get much protection from privacy laws. Step
outside, and airborne law enforcement trolling for lawbreakers does not need
warrants, the courts have said.
My response to spending money on cop cameras
When the police tell me what to do, we'll do it, end of story
Spend $90,000 on cameras to rope in the cops and save the people of Fairfax County several million paid out in law suits caused by the punks within the police ranks....cameras cost is less than the Fairfax County Police Royal Entitlement Navy and AirForce...but unlike the Fairfax County Police Royal Entitlement Navy, the cameras actually do something.
Spend $90,000 on cameras to rope in the cops and save the people of Fairfax County several million paid out in law suits caused by the punks within the police ranks....cameras cost is less than the Fairfax County Police Royal Entitlement Navy and AirForce...but unlike the Fairfax County Police Royal Entitlement Navy, the cameras actually do something.
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Albuquerque police are going to require officers to use cameras to record all encounters with the public.
The Albuquerque Journal reports (http://bit.ly/KO6kVn) that the department is slated to put the new requirement, an expansion of a current policy, into effect Sunday.
Presently, officers are required to use small, digital lapel-mounted cameras to record searches and disorderly conduct arrests. But under the new requirement, the small cameras will be on every time an officer interacts with a member of the public.
Police Chief Ray Schultz said the change was recommended by the Police Oversight Commission. He said the department has purchased about 200 of the newer pen cameras for about $60 apiece.
"Hopefully, this will help to resolve some of the issues that have been ongoing," Schultz said, referring to officers' versions of events, particularly in use of force cases, being called into question by community groups.
The new cameras also come as the department faces heat from civil rights groups for 24 officer-involved shootings — 17 fatal — since 2010. They have been pressing for a U.S. Justice Department investigation into the shootings, but federal officials have not said if they would probe the department.
Meanwhile, the Albuquerque Police Department has instituted a number of reforms, including raising the requirements for incoming officers and having an independent
review panel look into all officer-involved shootings.
By last summer, each of the more than 650 uniformed officers had been issued a lapel camera, Schultz said. The department has bought more than 1,200 of the easily breakable cameras for about $100 each since the department began ordering them in 2010.
Schultz said the new pen cameras will help with investigations. "We continue to see good results where the officers are exonerated after having false complaints made against them," he said.
Schultz said the policy change is likely to create a "logistical nightmare" for APD administrative staff. The department's officers respond to more than 1,500 calls for service per day on average.
"The technology still continues to emerge, and it is not yet perfect," he said. "We're trying to work through the bugs, and the biggest problem for us is going to be how to copy and retain the video from the cameras."
Officers can be reprimanded for not turning on their recorders, Schultz said. An officer could be fired if he or she repeatedly fails to record encounters.
Lapel cameras hold about six hours of video. The pen cameras hold less than two hours.
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