Police body cameras spark heated discussion at Tuesday council meeting

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016, 12:15 p.m. — Questions about the future of the Bardstown Police Department’s body camera program led to some heated exchanges between the members of the Bardstown City Council and with Mayor John Royalty at its meeting Tuesday night.

During council members comments, Councilwoman Kecia Copeland asked the mayor for updates on the police body camera program which was suspended July 26, 2016, after complaints surfaced about missing video and other technical problems.

During the council’s comment period, Councilwoman Kecia Copeland asked the mayor for an update on the body camera program that was suspended at the July 26, 2016, council safety committee meeting.

At that meeting, Royalty recommended stopping the body camera program until interim police chief McKenzie Mattingly and his leadership team could investigate new cameras and their associated costs. Mattingly and Lt. Brad Gillock told the committee they would need no more than 30 days to research the cameras. The body camera program was suspended later that evening.

At Tuesday’s council meeting, Copeland suggested creating a committee to help study the camera issue. The camera program is important to the community, and the cameras offer protection for both citizens and officers.

Councilman Bill Buckman said bringing the cameras back would be great, “but your talking $160,000-$200,000 a year for body cams to do what they need to do.”

He cited the other police agencies that do not have them, including the Kentucky State Police and the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office.

COST ESTIMATES INCREASE EACH MEETING. When body cameras have been discussed by the council, the costs have steadily increased since the July 26 safety committee meeting.

At that meeting, Mattingly said the initial price he was quoted was $65,000 for a five-year contract for the bare minimum camera and storage package offered by Taser International. Greater amounts of video storage space is available at greater cost, he added.

Taser International is the leading police body camera manufacturer, and controls approximately 3/4 of the body camera business in the U.S.

The city police department has more important needs than body cameras, Councilman Bill Buckman said during council discussions Tuesday night.

At the Aug. 10 city council meeting, Royalty told the council the cost for body cams could top $100,000. At Tuesday’s council meeting, he said the cost will “top 150 grand easy,” and Buckman said the annual cost could go as high as $200,000.

BUCKMAN: BODY CAMS NOT A PRIORITY. Buckman told Copeland the police department has greater needs than spending money on body cameras.

“I’ve got officers who are buying their own patrol guns, we don’t have our own patrol rifles; we don’t train but once a year because we don’t have the ammo,” he said.

Being an officer in a small town like Bardstown isn’t the same as working as an officer in a big city, he said. “Really? I need a body cam when I’m out here in Bardstown?”

He suggested that if there’s a police agency in the county that needs body cameras, its the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office “because they’ve been involved in three times more shootings than we ever have.”

The sheriff’s office doesn’t use body cams because they afford them, and neither can the Bardstown Police Department, he said.

MAYOR: “YOU’LL BE THE FIRST TO KNOW.” Royalty expressed frustration at Copeland’s repeated requests for updates on the body cams each time the council meets. He promised that when he received information he would pass it along to the council.

Mayor John Royalty promised the council Tuesday a report on the body cameras will be forthcoming.

“You can’t expect us to get this done in 60 or 90 days,” he told Copeland, adding the fact former Chief Rick McCubbin spent six months researching the cameras. It may take more than six months to determine which camera system to recommend, he said.

Researching cameras is important because the original body cameras were a problem from the beginning, “and I’m not willing to spend one red cent for more junk cameras,” he said.

Once the research is done — and he predicted the cost will top $150,000 — the purchase can be put out for bid “and then you guys have to figure out how you’re going to pay for it.”

Copeland said it was her right to request updates on the cameras because the community wants to know. She reminded the mayor that he wanted the body cameras just as much as everyone else and it was wrong to now try to blame others for their purchase.

“The people want the cams, and they deserve an answer,” she said.

Royalty stated there would be report forthcoming on the body cams.

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