When officers join these units, they are serving as federal agents, and therefore, have to follow federal rules, including scrapping their body cameras. Marshals that is responsible for capturing many of the city's worst violent offenders. Marshals Service said in a statement it is "aware that some state and local task force partners have implemented body-worn camera programs and is committed to continuing to assist our task force partners however possible in performance of the critical mission to ensure the safety of our communities."Īustin police have 38 officers who are deputized to work on federal task forces, including the Joint Terrorism Task Force, organized crime, narcotics and gang units that work with the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, a division of the U.S. Manley said he had not put a deadline on when he would make a decision, and neither the FBI, nor the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives would comment on the ongoing discussions, referring questions to the Justice Department. "What I have asked for and would like to see I think is a good starting point." "I fully recognize that these officers will often times be riding in vehicles with federal agents, and they may be having conversations in the car and may be discussing classified information and concerned about that being released," he said. "Anytime you are going out to make one of those arrests, there is inherent danger in the action that you are taking, and I think that the cameras will provide an independent account of what happened in case something happens in one of those incidents, fully recognizing that the cameras don't always tell the full story," Manley said. Those talks are ongoing, he said. His main request: that officers serving on task forces be allowed to wear the cameras during pre-planned operations, such as executing a search warrant or making an arrest. He said federal authorities have been receptive to discussing the issue since he first brought it to their attention. Manley last week said he has no intention of pulling his officers from task forces just yet. Many of those agencies, including the Austin Police Department, have relied on federal funding to implement their programs.īut a Justice official said none of its agents or officers uses body cameras because the department wants to protect "sensitive or tactical methods used in arresting violent fugitives or conducting covert investigations." Justice officials also are concerned about the privacy of people who may be present when a warrant is executed. For Manley, it is a matter of transparency, and many other agencies across the country feel the same.Īccording to a 2018 report by the Department of Justice, 47% of the more than 15,000 law enforcement agencies in the country had implemented body-worn camera programs in 2016, citing their ability to improve officer safety, increase quality of evidence and reduce civilian complaints and agency liability. So it just seems inconsistent that they wouldn’t allow us to use them with federal programs."Īll Austin police, including detectives, have been equipped with body cameras since last year. "The federal government put a large amount of funding behind body-worn camera programs around this country for a reason, because it’s recognized as a best practice and best tool. "This boils down to common-sense use of current technology," Manley said. Now, several other departments are considering following Atlanta's lead, including Austin police, who have been in discussions with federal authorities for a year trying to change the policy, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley told the American-Statesman. The department's police chief didn't learn her officers couldn't wear the body cameras until after the incident, the Washington Post reported. Last month, the Atlanta Police Department was the first department to withdraw because of this issue, following a deadly raid in which an officer working on an FBI fugitive task force shot and killed a wanted but unarmed man. The Austin Police Department is one of several from across the country that's considering pulling out of federal task forces because of the feds' objections to officers wearing body cameras.
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