Chiefs: Cameras help hold officers accountable

Body and dash cams have provided a view into interactions between police and members of the public, but new technology could soon provide more perspective to the situation.

A panel of local law enforcement leaders, state prosecutors and the Norwalk NAACP held a virtual meeting last week to discuss concerns of community members.

In response to local and nationwide protests in the wake of deaths of George Floyd and others in police custody, the panel is looking for better ways to forge bonds in the communities their departments serve.

Police accountability is one of their priorities.

Car and body cameras can give those who investigate complaints against officers a chance to review what happened during the interaction.

“I’m a big fan of body cameras,” Darien Police Chief Donald Anderson said. “We get a complaint, and as Warner Wolf used to say, ‘Let’s go to the videotape.’ ”

Anderson and other police chiefs said the video often shows a different account from what the person involved and the police officer remember from the interaction. They said common ground can be found and officers find ways to improve their dealings with the public.

“The state should make it mandatory for every department in Connecticut to have them,” New Canaan Police Chief Leon Krolikowski said. “There’s no reason not to.”

To ensure cameras are used, Norwalk conducts monthly audits of the footage and calls.

In Darien, Anderson said, car and body cameras automatically turn on if a police vehicle’s lights are activated, and if its speed exceeds 70 mph.

Technology is coming, Anderson added, that would turn the camera on when an officer’s weapon is pulled from the holster.

Among several questions from members of the public regarding oversight and discipline of officers was about qualified immunity, which the state’s attorneys and chiefs said is misunderstood and does not protect police from breaking the law.

“Qualified immunity does not protect reckless, negligent or criminal conduct,” Anderson said. “It offers some level of protection to officers who believe they were operating correctly.”

Without that protection for officers acting within their authority, they “would be sued all the time,” Stamford State’s Attorney Paul Ferencek said.

Wilton Police Chief John Lynch said there is also a misconception about how unions influence discipline for officers who violate policy.

“We negotiate with the union the process of how it’s handled,” Lynch said. “The union does not have much say in disciplinary action, but the way it’s handled.”

If unsatisfied with the process inside the department and the town’s government, the officer in question can take a grievance to the state labor board, then to court.

“It could take years,” Krolikowski said.

Departments also should police their own use of force and profiling, Krolikowski said.

“We’re doing reports, analyzing data, looking at who officers are arresting, and if you see trends, you don’t like and don’t act on them you’re not a good leader.”

Should a criminal investigation into law enforcement personnel be required, Chief State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo said the state’s attorneys office will find investigators and prosecutors that do not have potential conflicts with the accused.

There has been some discussion about the state creating an inspector general position to probe cases of deadly force.

Colangelo and Ferencek said prosecutors do not necessarily side with police in criminal cases.

“While we play on the same field,” Colangelo said, “we don’t dress in the same dressing room.”

“We review warrants on a regular basis,” Ferencek said. “Many times, we reject a warrant and that doesn’t sit well. I think there is a perception that we are an arm of the police. That’s not true.”

“I’ll vouch for the fact they are very tough,” Lynch said. “They want to have the evidence.”

One way to ease tension could be to revisit whether police should be enforcing minor motor vehicle violations for expired registrations or equipment problems.

“It puts the police in a position where they interact with people they might not otherwise interact with,” Norwalk Police Chef Thomas Kulhawik said, adding that some of that could be handled through vehicle inspections.