Chief Says Minneapolis Police Body Camera Usage Up After Policy Change

Minneapolis police officers are using their body cameras more than they did before the department changed its policy following the fatal July officer-involved shooting of a woman who called 911, the city’s police chief said Monday.

Chief Medaria Arradondo changed the policy to require his officers to turn on their body cameras when responding to any call. The change came after an officer fatally shot Justine Ruszczyk Damond. She had called to report a possible sexual assault behind her home, and the responding officers did not turn on their body cameras before the shooting. The department’s previous policy gave officers some discretion.

Numbers released by the department Monday show that from July 29 to Aug. 27, officers recorded 55,729 videos with their body cameras. That’s up 133 percent from the 23,876 videos recorded from June 15 to July 14, the Associated Press reports. 

Critics of the program say the audit also shows that some officers are not obeying the new body camera policy.