New England Public Radio

Police Body Camera Program In Connecticut Gets Lukewarm Response

In 2015, the Connecticut Legislature set aside $15 million to help police departments buy body cameras. But only 10 out of the more than 100 eligible law enforcement agencies have responded.

John Salvatore is chief of police in Monroe and president of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association. He says the issue for his department is the cost of storing the video, which the program doesn’t fully cover, not the reluctance of officers to have their actions recorded.

“Our officers — they’ve been used to camera systems,” he says. “We’ve had them in our patrol cars for nearly 20 years, so they’re used to that and they understand the benefit of it. More often that not, it’s a benefit to the officer when we receive a complaint from a motorist regarding the traffic stop and after the motorist views it, they often rescind the complaint.”

But the president of the Connecticut NAACP says the lack of interest in body cameras is disheartening and very disappointing.

The Connecticut Radio Network contributed to this report.

The Week Ahead On Beacon Hill

The demise of the Boston Olympics bid was taken in stride by top elected officials in Massachusetts. This week, Bay State residents will get a look at the costs and benefits of a 2024 summer Olympics that is now off the table. When the bid was still alive, Gov. Charlie Baker and Democratic legislative leaders hired The Brattle Group to scrub the proposal and Baker says that their review will be released next week.

Bid proponents had described the plan as the state’s largest economic development project, an opportunity to expedite development that might otherwise take decades.  Critics and skeptics of the Olympics bid, who ultimately prevailed, worried about taxpayers being left on the hook for potential cost overruns.  The Brattle Group report lacks the high-stakes tag once attached to it but will at a minimum reflect what Massachusetts passed on, at least through the eyes of one consultancy.

For Henry Epp’s conversation with State House News Service reporter Matt Murphy about the week ahead on Beacon Hill, click the audio player above.

Mass. Senate President Wants State To Help Fund Body Camera Program

Massachusetts Senate President Stan Rosenberg says the state should provide money to help local police departments try out body cameras on officers. He says with some witnesses recording police interactions on cell phones, body cameras can ensure both police and citizens are treated fairly.

“We want to make sure that where technology is used, it’s being used properly,” Rosenberg says. “And that means, to our way of thinking, that we should do some pilots in the commonwealth to look at the policy construct that would have to be created so that there’s fair and balance use and access.”

Rosenberg says two Massachusetts communities, Gill and Taunton are already testing the devices. He expects legislative hearings on body cameras to be held later this year.