COLONIE – If you interact with a Colonie police officer, beginning Monday, July 17, you will be on camera.
The final training for officers ends a year-long process of choosing a vendor, receiving town board approval, finding additional funding, updating policies and procedures, and developing curriculum to roll out 106 Axon body-worn cameras.
Each officer in the patrol division of the department will wear a device along with their supervisors. Members of the tactical team will also be issued a camera.
“This the culmination of years of planning and training,” Colonie Police Chief Michael Woods said during a recent discussion in the Municipal Training Center on Wade Road. “It is not just about turning the cameras on.”
The conversation was briefly interrupted by shouting as a portion of the Colonie officers and command staff were completing a six-day training regimen in an adjacent room.
“Chief, it is going to get a bit loud in the next room in a few minutes,” Deputy Chief James Gerace warned.
This particular drill was designed to simulate a scenario where an officer arrives on scene to find another officer engaged in a heated battle with a subject. The second officer was tasked with de-escalating the situation to protect the subject as well as the officer. Gerace later explained that a combination of real scenario training combined with technical training on how and when to use the cameras and organize and store the data. A second group of officers were taking part in a traffic stop scenario outside. The officers were evaluated not just on the use of the body cameras, but also on how they executed the stop. The data captured on the cameras was downloaded and used in the evaluation process.
“The camera gives us a more complete account of an incident with the best possible perspective from the officer’s point of view,” Woods said. “This is unlike cell photo cameras that show only a small portion of an incident and can be edited. [The body-worn cameras] show a different angle or view from what the officer is seeing.”
The cameras do have some limitations, however. A body-worn camera does not follow the officer’s eyes or see exactly what they see. There may also be a difference in field of view, the camera’s capability to see better than an officer in low light situations, or an officer’s body may block the camera view.
Woods said that even with those potential drawbacks, the cameras provide enhanced transparency and accountability in enforcement actions for all parties involved and give insight into how officers perform in emergency situations and high-liability events, such as mental health-related incidents.
“Body cameras have been an important topic of conversation since I served on the Colonie Comprehensive Police Practices Review Committee following nationwide protests in the Summer of 2020,” Town Board Member Melissa Jeffers said. “The challenge has always been the funding for both the equipment and the amount of electronic storage required. However, I am pleased that we were able to secure grant funding and can begin implementing the program next week. This will add another layer of transparency to our nationally recognized and award-winning department.”
“This program is long overdue and represents our continuing efforts to provide transparency into our operations, giving the best available technology, training, and practices for our officers,” he said. “And it protects the citizens we serve and the officers that honorably and professionally carry out their daily duties.”
The Town Board voted unanimously to enter into a $997,131.76 contract with Axon Enterprise for 106 body-worn cameras on April 20.
“It is imperative today to have the point of view of our police officers confirmed by their own body cameras,” Town Supervisor Peter Crummey said. “In addition, the use of body cameras works to sustain the trust our citizens have with our police officers.”
The Colonie Police Department applied for and received a $180,000 grant from New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, which will fund the first year of the five-year contract.
The second year of the program will be paid for with COVID stimulus funds allocated from the town, and the remaining years will be included in the department’s annual budget, Woods said.
According to the contract, all of the cameras will be replaced and upgraded after 18 and 32 months of service.
“This will ensure the department has the newest technology available and equipment remains reliable,” Woods said.
Woods said that the next phase of the project will upgrade the video systems in the department’s four interview rooms in the investigations division. The intent will be to use the same servers and software as the body cameras to help streamline discovery requirements. That phase will be proposed in future budgets to the town board.