Vermilion Parish police departments using body cameras

The high-profile shooting involving a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., last summer launched the issue of  law enforcement wearing body cameras into a national conversation.
La. State Representative Dalton Honoré (D-Baton Rouge) pre-filed House Bill 183 last Friday that would require members of law enforcement agencies in Louisiana to wear body cameras.
Should the bill pick up steam and pass during the upcoming Legislative
Session, departments in Vermilion Parish would be ahead of the game.
Police departments in Abbeville, Erath and Maurice currently utilize the technology. The Kaplan Police Department has used the cameras in the past and is looking into the possibility of purchasing more in next year’s budget.
“We have had them for a few years,” Abbeville Police Chief Tony Hardy said. “It has definitely been worthwhile.”
Maurice Police Chief Warren Rost, whose department has used the cameras for nearly two years, said the equipment serves a purpose for both the officer and the citizen with whom he or she is interacting.
“An officer can make a traffic stop,” Rost said, “and before (the officer) can get information and relay it to the dispatcher, something could happen. At least the camera would have some type of footage. That would be something to help if God forbid something happens to an officer. For the general public, the officer knows he is being recorded so he is going to be more professional when dealing with them.”
Hardy said the cameras have cut down on complaints against members of his department.
“We will have complaints come in that an officer was rude,” Hardy said. “I tell them to come in and we will watch the video. There are a lot of false complaints that come in.
“Most of the time they are mad that the officer wrote them a ticket.”
With the ability to capture video and still shots, the cameras can serve as a record of every interaction an officer has with the public, well beyond where dashboard cameras in the vehicles can go.
“If one of my officer’s is interviewing someone inside of a residence, they can just turn it on,” Erath Police Chief Gerald Hebert said. “It really is a nice thing.”
Rost said that mobility is the essence of the equipment.
“The in-car cameras serve their purpose, but the body cameras are just something else,” Rost said. “If you go inside a house or inside a night club, you still have some type of visual and audio.
“It goes wherever you go.”
Like anything, the cameras range in price and capability. Hardy, who has more than 30 officers, said he paid around $400 per camera. Rost, who currently has a six officers, purchased cameras for around $125 a piece.
“We bought some cheaper ones,” Rost said. “They are not as great as some, but at least it is something.”
Hebert applied money from a grant to secure the cameras for the eight Erath officers. He said each camera cost around $1,200.
“We have had them for about six months,” Hebert said.
The Kaplan Police Department purchased cameras around five years ago.
“They have since worn out,” Kaplan Police Chief Boyd Adams said. “We want to purchase new ones, but that will probably not be until next year’s budget.
“I think the cameras are a great thing because it protects the citizen and protects the officer.”
Rost, who has served as police chief since the early 1980s, certainly believes in the technology.
“I have told my officers that it is the best thing you will ever carry,” Rost said. “Both the officer and the person know the camera is on and will think about what they do next.
“Sometimes the camera can diffuse a situation just by being on.”