Let’s go to the videotape — more than 3.5M cop-cam encounters
Cops have recorded more than 3.5 million encounters from body-worn cameras — but the NYPD Wednesday couldn’t say how many they’ve actually reviewed.
Authorities said precinct supervisors are required to regularly look over footage to make sure officers are using the cameras and taking proper police action.
“We have designed and required supervisors to conduct monthly inspections by doing random samplings of body cameras… for a whole host of issues,” said Assistant Chief Matthew Pontillo. “Whether or not the officer activated the camera in a timely fashion, whether the officer employed proper tactics, followed policy, things like that.”
At 1 Police Plaza, the Risk Management Bureau reviews footage to make sure encounters, like an arrest or summons, have been recorded, Pontillo said. But for the 3.5 million recordings made so far, Pontillo was unable to quantify just how many have been reviewed.
At a news conference, First Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Tucker said what’s more important is that footage is continuously being scrutinized. “We don’t want any gaps,” Tucker said. “We don’t want months to go by ...because we miss things if we don’t.
“We’ve been vigilant about that because we recognize how critical it is.”
Tucker reported all officers, sergeants and lieutenants — about 20,000 cops in all — are now wearing body-worn cameras in every precinct, housing and transit command in the city.
And each week, about 86,000 recordings are made — making it the largest such initiative in American policing. About 4,000 more cops from a number of specialty units, including Emergency Service and the Strategic Response Group, will get cameras by August.