St. Paul cops poised to test body cams

St. Paul police will start wearing body cameras next month as part of a 60-day test of the technology.

Officers in the city's western district will turn the cameras on starting Nov. 9. The test will include uniformed patrol, K-9 and traffic enforcement officers, the department said Thursday as it released a 19-page policy guide on when officers are expected to wear the cams and when they're supposed to be turned on.

The initial policy calls for the cameras to be running in a wide variety of cases, including traffic stops, arrests, searches and situations where police encounter resistance or aggression. It also calls for cameras to be running when officers interview crime witnesses, suspects and victims.

The policy also outlines when the cameras should not be running, including when officers are in non-public police department areas, when interacting with informants or undercover officers, bathrooms, locker rooms and inside court rooms. But it also gives officers wide latitude to shut the cameras off, including at the request of victims or witnesses — although the policy doesn't mandate officers comply with such requests.

The department is classifying the video as private data, in accordance with state law, although some video, such as that involving officers firing their weapons, will be public. It also blocks officers involved in "critical incidents," such as officer-involved shootings, from viewing video before meeting with investigators about incidents that involve police and serious injury or death.

The video can't be used by supervisors to spy on officers, the policy says, but internal affairs investigators can use it to look into misconduct complaints. Officers can also make a written request to have access blocked for "personal conversation" captured by unintentional or inadvertent recording.

The department is also planning to keep video involving crimes until any legal appeals are exhausted or statute of limitations expire. Other tape will generally be retained for six years, although death investigation video can be retained indefinitely.

Police Chief Todd Axtell last month estimated about 40 officers would be involved in the initial roll-out and that he anticipated all eligible officers will be wearing cameras by mid-2017.

The department is accepting public comments on the initial policy by email. Residents can also send thoughts via regular mail to: SPPD BWC Program at 367 Grove St., St. Paul, MN 55102.