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Cicero Police Department Adds Body Cameras to Officer’s Uniforms Cicero Police Department Adds Body Cameras to Officer's Uniforms

Body cameras are becoming more common as transparency becomes more important.

By James Pampeyan

A body camera being held by an officer. Ten body cameras were given to the 18 police officers at the Cicero Police Department in early to help improve transparency between the police and the public.
© 2021 James Pampeyan

JAMES PAMPEYAN: Officers for the Cicero Police Department have a new piece of equipment for their uniform. Body cameras are a part of an effort to create transparency between the police and the public. According to Cicero Chief of Police Steve Rotunno, the introduction of body cameras creates unbiased recordings of police interactions. He says transparency is the number one priority.

STEVE ROTUNNO: When I started 32 years ago, we had a patrol car, a radar, and a radio in our cars and now today we have in car cameras, we have body cameras, and we have radars, so on and so forth so our job is everchanging and transparency is one of my number one goals for the police department.

PAMPEYAN: Body cameras aren’t the only cameras that are recording. Rotunno says the digital age poses a different challenge, people recording officers without them knowing. He says his officers expect to be recorded and body cameras help even the playing field.

ROTUNNO: If people are recording us, we let them record us. Now that we do have body cameras, we also let them know we’re recording them.

PAMPEYAN: Body cameras aren’t used just to protect the public. They protect police officers as well. Officers must turn on the camera during every call and turn them off once the call has ended. At the precinct, the cameras are plugged in and the videos are uploaded and stored in a database. Cicero Officer Ashley Smith says this allows unbiased accounts of events to be seen.

ASHLEY SMITH: When you have a camera, someone could make a complaint against somebody all day. They’ll look into it, they’ll be able to see if its sustained or not. So if anything, it has helped us a lot.

PAMPEYAN: The body camera program came with a learning curve. The officers at the Cicero Police Department received ten cameras and went through a small training to get familiar with the equipment. Smith says although the cameras are a new part of her routine, she supports the use of body cameras to increase transparency.

SMITH: I think it’s 1000% important because just like we’re trying to gain trust from the public, the public is trying to gain trust from us. If anybody has any questions, if anyone files a complaint, chief can literally go right into the database, look up the date, the time of the incident, what the incident was, and go through the body cam footage.

PAMPEYAN: The Cicero Police Department isn’t the only department in Onondaga County to use body cameras. Other law enforcement agencies such as the Syracuse Police Department and the Manlius Police department have body camera programs. According to Syracuse Police Department’s Public Information Officer Sergeant Matthew Malinowski, all 220 officers of the Syracuse Police Department wear body cameras. A long way from the 16 cameras in the pilot program in 2018. Malinowski says the public expects them to wear body cameras.

MATTHEW MALINOWSKI: As the men and women in police work, we should rise to that high level and should be the best we can for the public and if these cameras instill confidence in the police department here, its something that we’re definitely able to get behind.

PAMPEYAN: According to the Syracuse Police Department’s website, the footage from the body cameras are stored for a minimum of six years. If a person makes a complaint, then the footage can be seen and investigated by the department and the Syracuse Citizen Review Board. The board investigates complaints and recommends policies such as recording interviews with police officers about complaints. Their investigations are independent from the police department. Ranette Releford is the primary investigator of the complaints and helps with the day-to-day operations of the Board. She says the police and the community should work in tandem, but transparency is only one part of rebuilding the trust.

RANETTE RELEFORD: I can’t say that its just all about transparency, but its about transparency and accountability. Even if we’re being transparent, we still need to hold people accountable. And if not, then you’re just saying something to acknowledge it but what are you going to do about it in order to fix it.

PAMPEYAN: The Onondaga County Legislature approved a plan to bring body cameras to the Onondaga County Sheriffs Department. The plan will cost 3-million dollars over five years. County Executive Ryan McMahon says he is looking for a vendor to supply the 224 body cameras and 67 vehicle cameras. James Pampeyan, NCC News.

CICERO, N.Y.(NCC News) — Body cameras are becoming more common on a police officer’s uniform. Recent national events such as the death of George Floyd and accounts of police brutality have increased the need for transparency between the police and the public.

Body cameras serve as unbiased storytellers of police interactions. The device records and saves every interaction the police has with people. From neighborly disputes to shootings, the device is another source for the public to see what transpired.

Here in Central New York, more police departments are implementing a body camera program. The Cicero Police Department is the most recent department to require officers to wear body cameras. The move towards transparency has introduced a lot of new equipment from when he first started according to Cicero Chief of Police Steve Rotunno.

“When I started 32 years ago, we had a patrol car, a radar, and a radio in our cars and now today we have in car cameras, we have body cameras, and we have radars, so on and so forth so our job is everchanging and transparency is one of my number one goals for the police department,” Rotunno said.

The body camera program started in early April for the Cicero Police Department. The officers received 10 cameras and went through training on how and when to use them. The officer must turn on their cameras at the start of every interaction and turn them off once the interaction is over. The device is plugged in and the recordings are uploaded when the officer returns to the precinct. These recordings help review citizen complaints with more information according to Cicero Officer Ashley Smith.

“If we have nothing to hide, there’s no reason why a police officer cannot wear a camera while conducting their duty,” she said. “If anybody has any questions, if anyone files a complaint, chief can literally go right into the database, look up the date, the time of the incident, what the incident was, and go through the body cam footage”

The Cicero Police Department is just one of several departments in Onondaga County to have body cameras. The Syracuse Police Department has all 220 officers outfitted with body cameras, in contrast to the 16 officers in 2018. The public expects police officers to wear body cameras, especially being in one of the most authoritative positions in society, Syracuse Police Department’s Public Information Officer Sergeant Malinowski explains.

“We do get a lot of authority, when it comes to this job, so it’s understandable that the public also wants to hold us to the highest standard and I think that we should,” he said. “As the men and women in police work, we should rise to that high level and should be the best we can for the public and if these cameras instill confidence in the police department here, its something that we’re definitely able to get behind.”

The body cameras are also used to help investigate citizen complaints. The Syracuse Police Department receives around 100 complaints a year. The Syracuse Citizen Review Board and the Syracuse Police Department investigate these complaints with the footage from the body cameras. However, the public should know the body cameras are just one part of the investigation Malinowski said.

“We have to review all available cameras, look at things from different angles, speak to witnesses, speak to the suspects, speak to the police officers,” he said. “That’s how you determine the full picture. Just because something may look a certain way on a body camera, understand that’s just from a certain angle that necessarily does not mean that’s how the incident transpired.”

The Syracuse Citizen Review Board is independent from the Syracuse Police Department. They conduct their own investigation of complaints and make suggestions to the department, such as recording interviews with police officers about complaints. They also believe the body cameras are only one part of the investigation according to primary investigator and Administrator Ranette Releford.

“The body camera footage is that middle ground. I do not say that it is the only thing you should look at,” she said. “You should still ask the questions to the complainent and you should still ask the questions to the officer because we want to know what the mind state of each during the incidents.”

Body cameras are a way for police to improve transparency with the public. But that is only a part of the solution said Releford.

“I can’t say that its just all about transparency, but its about transparency and accountability,” she said. “Even if we’re being transparent, we still need to hold people accountable. And if not, then you’re just saying something to acknowledge it but what are you going to do about it in order to fix it”

As for the next department to implement cameras, the Onondaga County Legislature approved a $3 million budget for a body camera program for the Onondaga County Sheriffs Department. The budget was approved on May 4, and the search for a vendor to provide the 224 body cameras and the 67 vehicle cameras is underway County Executive Ryan McMahon said.

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