Agenda 8-a - Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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26 1 Chair Dorosin said yes, at least through the May 1s` deadline, and if the Board felt 2 Carrboro should ultimately not be involved, then Carrboro would consider stepping back. 3 Commissioner Price said it would be good to speak with St. Paul's Village. 4 Chair Dorosin agreed, and thanked staff from across the County for working hard on this 5 project. 6 7 7. Reports 8 9 a. Orange County Sheriff's Office Portable Audio /Video Recorders Policy 10 The Board discussed the Sheriff's Portable Audio /Video (body -worn cameras) Records 11 Policy. 12 13 BACKGROUND: 14 At the February 6, 2018 Board of Orange County Commissioners meeting, the Board received 15 a presentation on Motorola's Digital Evidence Management Solutions 16 (DEMS) and introduced the SI -500 Body Camera and Command Central Vault. Orange County 17 Sheriff Charles S. Blackwood responded to questions from Board members about the possibility 18 of equipping Sheriff's Deputies with these body -worn cameras (BWC). During the conversation, 19 the Board expressed interest in revisiting the discussion after having a chance to review the 20 Sheriff's Portable Audio /Video Records Policy, which was distributed at the meeting. 21 22 Jennifer Galassi, Legal Advisor, said the policy tracks with State law, as well as best 23 practices. She said many of the parameters of the policy are already established based on the 24 relatively new North Carolina General Statue, which excludes recordings from the public 25 records designation, and sets out the process for seeking disclosure, and /or release of 26 recordings. She said the State's records and retention schedule for Sheriffs' offices, which this 27 body adopted, and the office adheres to for retention policies. She said this is the framework 28 into which the policy fits. She said the statute requires all law enforcement agencies that use 29 body cameras to have a policy that addresses the use of those devices, and places restrictions 30 on when a recording may be reviewed and released, both internally and to the public. 31 Jennifer Galassi said the statute does not address what the policy must address. She 32 said there are issues such as when to activate the body -worn camera; what should guide the 33 Sheriff's decision to allow disclosure, when that request is made; or when the Sheriff should 34 seek a court order to release a recording. She said all of these areas are within the Sheriff's 35 purview to establish in his /her policy. 36 Jennifer Galassi said she is here this evening to entertain the BOCC's comments, and 37 suspects most will center around social justice and issues of civil liberties. She said it is 38 important to remember that this policy has not yet been issued, as the Sheriff's office does not 39 yet have the body -worn cameras. She said all policies are open to revision and changes when 40 laws change, or better practices are encountered. She highlighted some issues of particular 41 interest to the Board: 42 • This is just another piece of equipment that will be assigned to their officers. As with 43 any equipment, the officer is responsible for insuring, prior to going into service, that it is 44 in good working order. 45 • The policy will outline the specific situations when the body -worn cameras should be 46 activated. The policy states that not every scenario can be foreseen, but it focuses on 47 two touchstones of when a recording should begin: when it is appropriate or valuable to 48 record the incident. An officer is called upon to exercise his /her discretion when making 49 that determination. Good training will be very important