SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah, April 10, 2019 — The board of the Unified Police Department invited public input Wednesday regarding the use of body cameras, which the department is considering discontinuing due to the cost.
And the public was not shy about voicing strong opinions.
Within the one-hour period allowed for comment, nearly two dozen Utahns spoke, all in favor of keeping body cameras.
● “As a citizen of Utah, I demand that our police officers have body cameras,” said one of the later speakers, a woman from Salt Lake County.
Earlier speakers had laid out multiple reasons.
● One man said that body camera footage not only increases police accountability to the public, but to the courts.
“It doesn’t only make financial sense, but it’s a matter of principle … to hold these people responsible,” a man said.
● A man who said he was a member of the Hispanic community said that if guns and body armor are considered protection, so should be body cameras, which help protect both officers and citizens accused of wrongdoing.
“The conversations needs to be expansion (of the body camera program),” the man said, adding that he had talked to chiefs of two Unified Police Department precincts who agreed body cameras provided protection.
● A man who talked about a history of police brutality against Native Americans said the benefits of funding equipment and maintenance are not always financial.
“The benefit is people’s lives. That’s what the benefit is,” he said.
● A woman who said her nephew had been killed by police said the use of body cameras should be a standard.
“I think it will save lives,” she said, adding that she was speaking because her nephew “had no voice.”
● Another speaker talked about a UPD officer who ran over a woman being sought by police, killing her, saying the officer had a record of vehicular recklessness when working as a police officer in West Valley City.
It was “a severe breach of public trust,” speaker said, adding that “public trust is something to be earned.”
● A Salt Lake City man commented that body cameras were just as essential as guns, but no one was scheduling a meeting to discuss whether officers should carry guns.
● A woman who said she worked as a psychiatric nurse and was a member of Black Lives Matter said she had watched body camera footage released in two recent shootings, including that of Jamal Bell in Harrisville, and she saw no evidence that officers tried to de-escalate critical situations before firing.
“The commodity we are really talking about his human lives,” she said. “Police officers are supposed to protect and serve. You would think any officer would want to use a body camera.”
● One Salt Lake County resident said he was in favor of body cameras, but suggested waiting a few years to invest in new cameras due to expected improvements in technology.
● A South Salt Lake woman who said she was a retired school teacher said that when funding is not available, teachers still find a way to do their jobs.
“All professions — we don’t have enough money,” she said. “Share the guns. Share whatever you’ve got. Take care of the needs of the people. Do what has to be done to get the money to get the things we need to do the job.”
● Another speaker cited the case of University Hospital Nurse Alex Wubbels, who was wrongfully forced into a Salt Lake City Police car for refusing to break hospital policy and provide a blood sample, without a warrant, for an unconscious patient.
“Without that footage, I’m not sure what would have happened,” the woman said.
She also noted that other cities maintained their cameras for less money that the $157,000 annually for 125 cameras mentioned by the Unified Police Department.
The speaker said the Herriman Police Department maintained their cameras for at least $1,000 less per camera, and she suggested UPD officials go talk to Herriman police.
