Authorities give public close look at body cameras in Colorado Springs

People in the Colorado Springs area who have had questions or concerns about law enforcement body-worn cameras got to see the devices in action Tuesday.

Fifty citizens and community leaders attended a daylong training session at Liberty High School; they were invited or had expressed interest in the cameras used by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, and by police in Colorado Springs, Fountain and Monument.

During the six-hour session, participants played the role of law enforcement officer in scenarios ranging from a traffic stop, to a suspect search in the dark, to a domestic violence situation.

Participants saw how the body cameras work, learned when to use deadly force and said they better understand the responsibilities carried by law enforcement.

Authorities said the goal of the event was to help the public and media learn more about what the cameras can and can’t do.

“A body camera can see only 130 degrees of the 360 degrees officers can see with their eyes,” said Fountain Deputy Police Chief Tommy Coates. “It can’t see what else is happening, all the variables that are possible in a given situation that can influence an officer’s response. People need to understand that.”

Fountain and Monument police use Axon, a camera is the shape of a cube; Colorado Springs police and El Paso County deputies use Utility, a camera that looks like a cellphone.

A common complaint about body cameras is that the video they record is rarely made available to the public.

“You have to weigh the pluses and minuses, and make sure the actual need for that footage from the public is justified,” Coates said. “A lot of times, the requests are a dispute between neighbors, or a husband or a wife. Other times, the video is evidence in an investigation.”

Willie Breazell, president of the Garden of the Gods Rotary Club and a participant in the training, said he appreciates the opportunity to learn more about the cameras.

“But my concern is if they don’t tell the whole story, how do we improve on that?” he said. “How do we make sure the police are properly adjudicated, right or wrong? And how do we keep people who don’t understand that, from rioting or being violent and destroying property?”

After each scenario, participants watched the video recorded by the cameras and heard feedback from authorities on how well the video worked.