INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) began the process to equip 1,100 officers with Utility, Inc.’s BodyWorn camera technology on Monday, Aug. 3, representing the start of the first permanent body worn camera program for IMPD. The program follows a stakeholder-driven body worn camera feasibility study in 2019, as well as an investment of $1.2 million dedicated last fall by Mayor Joe Hogsett and the City-County Council to fund the program’s rollout.
Officers must have their cameras on for every citizen interaction, except for in specific sensitive situations where requested by the citizen for their privacy. While officers will announce that they are recording when it is feasible, residents should assume any interaction they have with officers is being recorded. Officers will not be able to tamper with recordings. If an officer fails to activate their camera or the technology fails during a citizen interaction, they must notify a supervisor and create a report to be investigated by the Body Worn Camera Administrator for departmental compliance. IMPD’s full Standard Operating Procedure for body worn cameras can be found on Indy.gov.
After a member of the Body Worn Camera Unit redacts such sensitive visuals as personal information, nudity, and the faces of victims, witnesses, and juveniles, releasable videos can be available to the public through the submission of a public records request. Recordings will be kept for a state-mandated minimum of 190 days, or as long as they are necessary for legal, administrative, or civil proceedings.
Triggers that will turn the camera on include if an officer:
• is within 500 feet of a dispatched run, activated by computer-aided dispatch calls for service
• draws their handgun from its holster
• begins to run
• engages in jostled movement, such as during a fight
• activates lights and/or sirens in the car
• unlocks the shotgun rack
•lies flat for 10 seconds – this feature, known as Officer Down, notifies all cars on the district that an officer is in need of immediate assistance