![]() ![]() SJPD is considering three types of cameras, two made by Taser - one mounted on a pair of eyeglasses - and one from Vievu, a company headed by a former Oakland police sergeant. Earlier, during Chief Rob Davis’ term, which ended in 2010, SJPD conducted a short-term test of body cameras for Taser International, the pre-eminent supplier of police stun guns. In 2012, under Moore, the San Jose department purchased 50 cameras and sketched out a pilot program to outfit six officers, but that never got off the ground. Police officials point to other logistical hurdles, noting that besides Oakland, which adopted the devices in part to comply with court-ordered reforms, the Bay Area agencies that have body cameras are much smaller than the 1,000-officer SJPD and can adopt new technology quicker than their larger counterparts. Our goal is to make sure our process is thoughtful.” “We realize these are law-enforcement tools of the future. “There’s this race to get body cams on police as soon as possible, but it’s a very complex issue,” said Officer James Gonzales, incoming vice president of the San Jose Police Officers’ Association. But union leaders say the array of privacy issues posed by the devices means their deployment has to pair with the creation of a more comprehensive policy that protects officers’ rights by limiting who can access the footage. In 2013, the Santa Clara County Police Chiefs Association agreed on a use policy for body-worn cameras. We need to move forward.”Īs of Friday, department and union officials say there is no clear timetable for when the first San Jose officers will be equipped with the tiny cameras. This department should have cameras,” said Independent Police Auditor LaDoris Cordell, a retired judge who has pushed for the cameras for nearly four years. The program was left in limbo after Chief Chris Moore retired in 2013 and more recently has been delayed as the police union and the department work out how footage taken by the cameras can be used. Mountain View, home of tech giant Google, expects to outfit officers over the next year.īut in San Jose, the Bay Area’s largest city and self-proclaimed capital of Silicon Valley, the cameras have yet to be tested, more than two years after a pilot program appeared poised to begin. ![]() SAN JOSE - Amid a national push for police officers to wear body cameras, San Jose’s efforts to equip its officers have stalled for years, most recently waiting for the city and its police union to agree on a policy covering the use of cameras.Ī number of Bay Area police agencies already had officers wearing body cameras or were on the verge of rolling them out when President Barack Obama this week announced his intention to dramatically increase the number of cops with the recording devices, in the wake of police distrust evoked by the events in Ferguson, Missouri.Ĭameras are being worn by cops in Oakland, Richmond, Gilroy, Los Gatos, Campbell, Union City, East Bay Regional Parks and BART. ![]()
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