Scott Maxwell: Winter Park rejects police body cameras.
The Irma aftermath continues. And we’ve got some hurricane news — specifically, advice for drivers who seem dangerously baffled by intersections where the stoplights aren’t working. (Seriously, it looks like the Bithlo Crash-A-Rama out there.)
But first, a look at one story that got buried in the hurricane hubbub — Winter Park’s decision not to equip its police officers with body cameras.
The city’s move not only runs counter to what departments all over this region and nation are doing; it’s one Winter Park will probably regret.
Cameras, after all, help protect good cops from bogus accusations.
They help prosecutors get convictions. They instill public confidence. And when cops are attacked, they help authorities catch the low-lifes who did it.
Winter Park Mayor Steve Leary knows all this and pushed his city to equip the police force. But commission members rejected his plea, griping about costs and generally saying they had other priorities.
The cost argument sounds silly in Winter Park — a tony town spending $30 million on a new library and events center, but balking at $200,000 to equip 40 to 50 officers with body cams.
Think about it. Cities like Apopka, Casselberry, Sanford, St. Cloud, Winter Garden and many more managed to find the money. But Winter Park — home of million-dollar mansions — cried poor.
Also, the city’s cost estimates, which didn’t include data storage, seem inflated. Other departments have spent far less. Sanford, for instance, reported spending less than half that much — about $2,000 per camera for everything.
The costs are tiny compared to the overall cost of equipping and putting an officer on the street.
Perhaps most revealing, though, is that while other departments have tapped federal grant money for cameras to lessen the impact on their local budgets, Winter Park hasn’t even applied for that money. That speaks volumes.
Winter Park leaders said they simply didn’t see the need, since the city hasn’t been plagued with complaints about officers. (The same logic would suggest you don’t need seat belts until
after you crash.) Winter Park Commissioner Pete Weldon said he didn’t want public safety being used as a “political football.”
That’s not what the chiefs who use cameras say. I’ve spoken to lots of them, from small towns to big counties. Most say that cameras, while not perfect, are a big benefit — and can stave off lawsuits that cost far more than the cameras themselves.
“No complaints whatsoever,” said the chief in St. Cloud.
“It helps make us better,” said Windermere’s chief.
Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood said that, while he used to worry that his best, most aggressive cops wouldn’t like the cameras, he quickly learned: “I was wrong. They wanted it. It was the bums who didn’t want it.”
Well, the bums and the Winter Park commission.
Mark my words: If Winter Park leaders don’t reverse course — their final budget meeting is Sept. 25 — they will regret this.
Because one day, someone will accuse a Winter Park officer
of doing something wrong. Perhaps unfairly. Perhaps not.
And the chief or city leaders will indignantly ask why citizens don’t give officers the benefit of the doubt. And the response will be: Because you chose to keep the facts hidden. From juries. From prosecutors. From the public.
And that’s just what the bums and the bad guys want. Four-way insanity Speaking of public safety, I wanted to offer a handy tip for how we should all approach intersections without working stoplights: Don’t be a dangerous dolt.
That’s my advice. The Florida Highway Patrol’s is more diplomatic: First to stop, first to go.
That’s the phrase they came up with, meaning you should treat any lightless intersection like a four-way stop, where drivers proceed in the order in which they arrive.
In other words: Take turns … just like we all learned back in kindergarten.
If you thought everyone knew this, FHP says it has more than 30 crashes that prove otherwise.
The fine folks at the Orlando Police Department agreed, while adding that, if two drivers arrive at the same time, the tie goes to the driver on the right.
Sure, some folks will still be confused about the rules. Others will still think the rules don’t apply to them. But if we work together, surely we can power through this power-deprived mess together smaxwell@orlandosentinel.com