The Votes Are In!
2023 Readers' Choice is back, bigger and better than ever!
View Winners → 
Say Cheese – Pasadena Police Implements Body Worn Cameras
News Nov 11, 2016
by
share with
Under the new body worn camera policy, officers involved in shootings will be allowed to review their camera footage before giving statements. – Photo by Terry Miller
By Gus Herrera
Effective as of this past Monday, the officers of the Pasadena Police Department will now be equipped with body worn cameras.
Despite being a step towards the right direction, with respects to cultivating a stronger sense of transparency and accountability between the police and the citizens they are sworn to protect, the decision to implement the cameras upon such short notice has stirred up quite a bit of controversy.
City Manager Steve Mermell made the announcement that the cameras would be going into effect in his Nov. 3 weekly newsletter. In the statement, Mermell revealed that the police department completed “implementation of body worn cameras ahead of schedule.”
The policy was approved under the authority granted to the chief of police by the city’s municipal code section 2.295.030. Additionally, the policy was subject to a meet and confer process with the Pasadena Police Officers Association (aka collective bargaining agreement).
Mermell’s newsletter also acknowledged the fact that there have been requests to first release the body camera policy as a draft, subject to further public review/discussion, but he stated that “doing so would not have been consistent with the closure reached by the meet and confer process and … the municipal code provision.”
He went on to say that the policy’s development process afforded adequate opportunity for public input via a public safety committee meeting and discussions between the city manager, police chief, and members of the Coalition for Increased Civilian Oversight of Pasadena Police.
Needless to say, the city manager’s newsletter sparked quite a bit of shock, moreover outrage. Dale Gronemeier, local attorney, quickly responded by releasing his own statement via email, “City Manager Steve Mermell’s 11th hour announcement that body cameras will be implemented this coming Monday … reflects a spineless and undemocratic process that capitulated to the reactionary wishes of the city’s police union.”
Not only was Gronemeier opposed to the manner in which the city decided to drop the policy on its citizens, but he was also concerned with certain verbiage within the policy itself. One aspect of the body worn camera policy, section 450.11, allows officers involved in shootings to review the footage from their camera before giving their statements.
“Officers can therefore tailor their testimony to what they see on the cameras, rather than giving their pure recollection. The new policy therefore facilitates police lying by fabricating explanations that conform to the evidence,” wrote Gronemeier.
Criticism of the city’s new policy continued at Monday’s regular city council meeting where citizens from all walks of life united in protest during public comment. Speakers included local attorneys and representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, Pasadena League of Women Voters, Black Lives Matter, the LA Brown Berets, and more. Leaders from the faith communities also took the podium: a rabbi, pastor, and reverend all spoke out against the new policy.
Certain council members, especially John Kennedy and Tyron Hampton, were also dissatisfied with the situation, but, given that the body camera policy was not a formal agenda item, the city attorney and Mayor Terry Tornek had to repeatedly remind the council to tone down their deliberations in fear of violating the Brown Act.
City Manager Mermell defended the new policy, arguing that the city wanted to deploy the cameras as soon as possible and that is its “highly likely that changes to the policy will be made” as real-world experience comes along. He also reminded everyone that state-wide policy changes from Sacramento may come about in the near future.
Council Member Kennedy refused to capitulate, “My recollection is somewhat different than the city manager’s recollection … the process you deployed trampled on the rights of the good people of Pasadena, as far as I’m concerned.”
The body worn camera policy will be formally agendized for the next public safety committee meeting on Nov. 21 – discussions are sure to be heated. To read the full policy, visit the City of Pasadena website.
More from News
