Hearing on the Use of Body Cameras by Officers at Department of the Interior

The House Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations this week held a hearing titled ‘Police Cameras at the Department of the Interior: Inconsistencies, Failures, and Consequences.’

The hearing opened with Subcommittee Chair TJ Cox (D-CA) speaking about the death of Bijan Ghaisar, who was fatally shot by U.S. Park Police. He went on the explain that the Department of the Interior (DOI) only met one of eight criteria for using body cameras, which is an 88% failure rate.

Ghaisar’s death, and many others, bring up the issue of body worn cameras and their use by law enforcement. This committee specifically focuses on issues within the Park Police which is a primary reason the hearing was called. Congresswoman Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR) highlighted concerns about issues of implementation, cost, and framework of using these cameras. She also highlighted the importance of funding such programs and ensuring they comply with regulations, noting the paradox between defunding the police and instituting body worn cameras.

The first witness to speak was Kelly Ghaisar, the mother of Bijan. She expressed her sadness with the lack of justice served in the death of her son. She said in her testimony, “Bijan deserves justice and transparency. Body cameras and dash cameras do an important job--they give us the truth.”

Arthur Ago, Director of the Criminal Justice Project Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the second majority witness, told the committee, “If officers are not given clear orders on what they must record, and if officers are not disciplined when they fail to follow those orders, then these cameras fail at safeguarding accountability.”

There must be strict limits on officer discretion on when to record and timely disclosure of camera footage when there is concern about misconduct, Ago said.

Jim Northup, Executive Councilmember of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, an organization composed of 1,800 retired, former, and current employees of the National Park Service (NPS), discussed how National Park Rangers have used body cameras for years and how they are currently used by over 1,000 commissioned rangers in over 100 parks. He pushed for Congressional funding, claiming that the reason many park officers do not use body cameras is simply because their departments cannot afford them at this time.

Northrup said, “Congress must provide the funding necessary to properly manage the program, purchase the equipment, provide the training, maintain the equipment, manage the data by accepted professional standards, and effectively manage the Freedom of Information Act requests and other release issues associated with the gathering of this information.”

This statement coincides with the sentiment of Congresswoman González-Colón, who believes that funding is necessary to finance and maintain body cameras, as well as to provide training for the officers who use them.

Law enforcement stakeholders expressed support for body worn cameras because they increase transparency and accountability in government. Larry Cosme, National President of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA), said his association’s largest concern about body worn cameras is the cost of implementing and maintaining them, as well as the specific use cases where cameras are and are not appropriate.

While he did highlight the importance of body cameras, Cosme explained that law enforcement efforts have been tainted by the media and people often do not see or understand the whole picture when cell phone videos are all the public sees. He said, “It is easy to scrutinize officers based on viral videos taken by outsiders, but in the moment of action, an officer must rely directly on what’s in front of them in a split-second decision based on training.”

All parties at the hearing agreed on the importance of body camera usage, as well as the need to monitor officer usage. They also agreed that implementation of body camera usage cannot be widespread until there is more Congressional funding secured for such programs.

To conclude the hearing, Subcommittee Chair Cox pointed out that the DOI did not show up to the hearing despite being invited. “It is disappointing, but not surprising, they have forgotten they are answerable to the legislative branch of the government… for the people,” he said.