State lawmakers are trying to rework a bill that the San Diego Police Department administration says would prohibit its officers from looking at the video before they write their reports.
The state assembly will be considering Assembly Bill 66 this spring, but SDPD Chief Shelley Zimmerman told NBC 7 if Assembly Bill 66 passes in its current form, it would discourage the use of cameras.
“We're seeking the truth like everyone else. It's important we use this piece of evidence,” Zimmerman said.
Right now, San Diego police officers are permitted to view the body camera footage before filing their reports on an incident. The chief said it's no different than reviewing their notes for accuracy.
If passed as written now, AB-66 would eliminate that practice.
“If there is any restriction that our officers are denied access to view the video prior to writing the report, yes I would oppose it,” Zimmerman said.
Bill proponents say it's not meant to discourage or encourage; it’s designed to catch bad cops.
Local
Not every detail of an incident is seen in body camera recordings, so defense attorney Gretchen von Helms argues corrupt officers could use that to their advantage.
“You would want them to always be truthful, but if they haven’t seen it and they think they might have been captured on video, they will be truthful about what happened,” Von Helms said.
Von Helms joins other defense attorneys who are arguing for passage of AB-66. She told NBC 7 recalling from memory actually bolsters police credibility.
“You are going to be omitting everything else that could also be important later on because you are only going to write down what the video captured,” von Helms said .
Opposition from law enforcement sent the bill's author Assemblywoman Shirley Weber back to the drawing board.
A spokesperson says the rewrite will permit police to view the recordings before writing reports, except in use of force instances where there is a death or severe injury.
Zimmerman recently reported to the San Diego City Council some startling results after the first six months of body camera use.
Some 300 cameras were deployed in the Southeastern, Central and Mid-City divisions -- areas where police get the most profiling and brutality complaints. In half a year, the number of complaints dropped 40 percent. The number of allegations within each complaint was reduced by 60 percent.
Between November 2014 and January 2015, the police chief said body cameras reduced the number of use of force incidents dramatically.
The number of times officers used their hands, feet and knees during an arrest dropped 47 percent, while the use of chemical mace dropped 31 percent. Zimmerman said those are the top two uses of force department-wide.
