Hub cops to begin body cam training
Officers in five police districts and the gang unit will be strapped with body cameras today for a twoday training session as the city rolls out a controversial pilot program — with a majority of the devices being worn by white cops.
The six-month trial with 100 officers — who had to be selected when no volunteers stepped up — includes 87 men and 13 women, according to data independently obtained by the Herald and confirmed by police. Of the 100 officers, 55 are white. The remainder includes 29 black officers, 13 Hispanic officers and three Asian officers, police said yesterday.
Police spokeswoman Myeshia Henderson said the 100 officers now work in Roxbury, Mattapan, the South End, Brighton and Hyde Park. The department’s Youth Violence Strike Force, commonly known as the gang unit, also has officers who were selected to don the cameras, she said.
Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice, said he’s concerned “heavily Hispanic and immigrant” East Boston was excluded.
“Cultural and linguistic barriers can manifest themselves during police interactions,” Espinoza said. “We should be closely monitoring the policing that is happening in this particularly diverse community. The exclusion of East Boston is deeply problematic.”
Two-day training for the 100 officers is set to begin today with an expected launch date for the pilot program sometime next month, Henderson said.
The city announced last night it has agreed to pay $500 to the officers who wear the cameras “after the completion of the six-month pilot program.” Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association President Patrick M. Rose has said forcing officers to wear body cameras goes against the deal the union reached with the department. He could not be reached for comment yesterday. Michael Curry, president of the NAACP’s Boston branch, said he is hopeful that this “pilot will yield the kind of data that will lend to an effective body-camera policy and implementation.” Curry said he is “deeply concerned,” however, with a disproportionate number of black officers in the program, noting the program’s purpose was to monitor officers’ behavior throughout the city, along with the public who are being filmed. He said the program was not intended to catch an officer-involved shooting on film, but to see what kind of information can be gleaned by the technology.
Black men and women represent about 24 percent of the city’s 1,400 patrol officers.
Anthony Braga, director of Northeastern University’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, chose the officers taking part, BPD has said, aiming for a mix of officers that “best reflect” the city’s racial makeup.