Photo: Seattle PD/Facebook
After a second successful body-cam pilot project, the Seattle Police Department had planned to start phasing in the cameras for officers by the end of this year. But now it looks like that might not happen as scheduled, reports mynorthwest.com.
They’ve run into a policy conflict with the federal monitor appointed to oversee reforms at the department. It’s a point of contention that is stalling the body-cam phase-in. The main issue: Seattle PD wants officers to be able to watch body-cam footage before they write their reports. Federal Monitor Merrick Bobb says otherwise, and wants officers to write their reports before accessing footage. City Attorney Pete Holmes has asked a federal judge in Seattle to hold a hearing to help them resolve the matter.