Bodycams
Dear Editor: The Alaska State Troopers announced this week that they had obtained funding to equip every trooper in the state with a body-worn camera. James Cockrell, the Public Safety Commissioner, was quoted, “I think it’s good for the public. I know it’s good for our troopers. I think it’ll reduce our litigation expenses, cases that would go to court, because everything is just going to be out there.”
As a former criminal defense attorney, I suspect I don’t see eye-to-eye with Commissioner Cockrell on everything, but I completely agree with his position on law enforcement bodycams.
I first encountered police bodycams about 10 years ago, when I had a few cases in Bethel, and the videos changed everything. I had more work in the sense that I had to review all the video footage, but, as the Commissioner said, the videos ultimately reduced work as far as litigation. There is a lot less to argue about when it’s all on camera.
Over the last 10 years I’ve had cases in every corner of Alaska, and over that time bodycams have slowly become standard just about everywhere, except Sitka. I’ve worked cases in Hoonah, Wrangell, Skagway and Petersburg, and their smaller police departments all use bodycams. Dare I say, from my experience, the police in those small communities do better work than the police in Sitka. Maybe the cases where the police do shoddy work never get charged because the prosecutor has seen the video, but I would wager it is more likely that the bodycams lead to better police work, and greater public trust in the police.
Last summer a member of the Sitka Assembly took steps on my behalf to advocate for bodycams in Sitka, going so far as to meet with the head of the Police and Fire Commission and the city administrator. The idea of bodycams at the Sitka Police Department was obviously shut down. I took that as a sign that they had something to hide, and they could not trust what might end up on the videos. I hope Sitka’s leaders will give some reconsideration, and maybe set-up a call with Commissioner Cockrell.
Andy Miller, Juneau
