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Police had body cams that should have automatically recorded Justine Damond’s killing
https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/20/16004000/axon-minneapolis-police-justine-damond-body-cam
It sounds like Minneapolis taxpayers spent $4.7 million to purchase bodycams and $55,000 for a system to automatically turn bodycams on in a number of scenarios. It appears all of these systems were disabled by these patrolmen. It almost sounds as though this police department is refusing to use the equipment that taxpayers purchased for them to use, according to law.
This needs full investigation to determine who has been disabling these systems to auto-record the bodycams. It's against the law to do so.
ETA: Maybe this is a smoking gun. If Minneapolis PD had their system rigged to start bodycams when lights are activated, it indicates they didn't turn on their lights because they didn't want to activate the bodycams.
https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/20/16004000/axon-minneapolis-police-justine-damond-body-cam
It sounds like Minneapolis taxpayers spent $4.7 million to purchase bodycams and $55,000 for a system to automatically turn bodycams on in a number of scenarios. It appears all of these systems were disabled by these patrolmen. It almost sounds as though this police department is refusing to use the equipment that taxpayers purchased for them to use, according to law.
Last year, the Minneapolis Police Department paid $55,800 for products designed to automatically record police interactions without officers having to worry about manually turning on their body cameras.
According to documents obtained by The Verge through Minnesota’s Freedom of Information Act, the department arranged to purchase 200 Axon Signal Units in March 2016. The Axon Signal Unit is an automatic recording product designed to be installed in a police cruiser. It is capable of turning on an officer’s body camera in a number of circumstances, such as when the cruiser’s light bar is engaged, when its crash sensors are activated, when it reaches a certain speed, when its front and rear doors are opened, or when nearby dashboard cameras or body cameras are switched on. “Signal guarantees that all footage goes recorded and saved,” according to online sales materials from Axon Enterprise, Minneapolis PD’s body camera provider.
This needs full investigation to determine who has been disabling these systems to auto-record the bodycams. It's against the law to do so.
ETA: Maybe this is a smoking gun. If Minneapolis PD had their system rigged to start bodycams when lights are activated, it indicates they didn't turn on their lights because they didn't want to activate the bodycams.