Bexar County Sheriff's Office Policy Manual - Body Worn Camera & Digital Media Evidence (PDF)

BEXAR COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE POLICY MANUAL Revision Date Effective Date Chapter Number March 4, 2022 August 26, 2022 Forty-Four Subject Office...

BEXAR COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE POLICY MANUAL Revision Date Effective Date Chapter Number March 4, 2022 August 26, 2022 Forty-Four Subject Office Body Worn Camera and Digital Media Evidence Sheriff’s Admin/Patrol/CID/SERT References Occupations Code §1701.651, §1701.659, Enclosures §1701.660,§1701.661 §1701.655, SB 158 (09/15); H.B. 3791 (9/15); None C.C.P. §§ Chapter 2; T.P.C § 16.02, 18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d), G.C 441.158 Distribution Supersedes Review Pages All Sheriff’s January 14, 2019 December 1, 2023 8 Employees Approved by: Javier Salazar, Bexar County Sheriff 44.01 POLICY Deputies equipped with a body-worn camera (BWC) and/or Mobile Recording Systems (MRS) shall record and maintain as evidence the law enforcement encounters as outlined in this policy. These recordings are the sole property of the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office. 44.02 PURPOSE This policy provides guidelines for proper use of Cameras and Recordings. Recordings assist in: A. Documenting law enforcement encounters and providing evidence for investigative and prosecutorial purposes pursuant to applicable law and this policy, considering the need for privacy in certain situations and at certain locations. B. Enhancing the accuracy of reports and testimony in court. C. Aiding evaluation and training. 44.03 DEFINITIONS A. BODY WORN CAMERA (BWC) - Authorized recording device issued by the Sheriff’s Office that is capable of recording, or transmitting to be recorded remotely, video or audio, to be worn on clothing or as glasses, for performing official duties. B. BUFFERING MODE - The camera will continuously record only in a preset timeframe loop. C. STANDBY MODE - The BWC is on but has not been activated to record either sound or video. D. CAMERA - A BWC and/or MRS device. E. COMPUTER AIDED DISPATCH (CAD) - Computer communications system that provides recorded copy of communications between the Public Safety Communications Center (dispatch center) and field units. 1 F. COVERT OPERATIONS - Undercover criminal investigations or law enforcement operations. G. DEACTIVATION - Turning off the body-worn camera system’s video or audio recording function. Utilizing the Mute function is considered a deactivation. H. ENFORCEMENT/DETENTION RELATED ENCOUNTERS - Includes but are not limited to the following: traffic stops, field interviews, searches, jail searches, cell extractions, inmate searches, jail disturbances, detentions, arrests, persons present that are accused of or are victims of crime(s); and consensual encounters in which the employee is developing reasonable suspicion or conducting law enforcement activity (I.e. suspicious person, vehicle, or circumstances). I. EVENT MODE - When the Event button on the BWC is activated, the camera is recording both audio and video. The buffered recording captured directly before the event will be saved and attached to all events in permanent memory. Repeated pressing of the Event button turns the recordings on and off and creates separate media segments. J. EVIDENCE.COM - A digital evidence management service contracted by the BCSO and accessed at Bexarcso.evidence.com. The service stores digitally encrypted data in a secure environment accessible to selected authorized personnel. K. FILE - All sounds, images, and metadata associated with a camera recording. L. METADATA - Case numbers, incident numbers, and other descriptors used to identify digital evidence. There are many searchable fields into which metadata can be entered. M. MOBILE RECORDING SYSTEM (MRS) - Authorized mobile camera recording system installed in vehicles that is capable of recording or transmitting to be remotely recorded, video, or audio. (Any policy or procedure described in this Chapter that applies to the BWC shall also apply to the MRS). N. PRIVATE SPACE - A location in which a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, including a person’s home. O. RECORDING - Any video/audio file created from a BWC or MRS. P. DOCKING STATION - A portable multi-ported cradle in which the BWC may be placed for charging, providing access to a power supply and to peripheral devices or auxiliary features. The docking station simultaneously recharges the BWC while uploading all digitally encrypted data from the BWC device. The docking station then transfers the digitally encrypted data to Evidence.com. Q. UNMANNED AERIAL/AIRCRAFT VEHICLE (UAV) - An aircraft piloted remotely, with no human control from in or on the aircraft. R. VIDEO EVIDENCE CUSTODIAN – An employee of the Sheriff’s Office with the responsibility for custody, security, and access control of recordings from by a BWC or MRS device. 2 44.04 PROCEDURES A. WHEN TO USE THE CAMERAS 1. Deputies shall not keep the event mode activated for the entire shift. 2. Mandatory Use - Deputies shall begin recording upon reception of a call or when initiating a response to an incident, whether dispatched or not, and shall continue recording through the entire call or incident. Deputies shall use both the BWC and the MRS throughout the entire call or incident if the vehicle is equipped with such. Neither the BWC nor the MRS will supersede the other; both the BWC and the MRS will be used in conjunction with one another. Should either the BWC or the MRS be found to be inoperative during the vehicle and equipment inspection the deputy shall notify the on duty supervisor immediately. Each deputy AND cover deputy shall activate cameras prior to making contact in any of the following situations: a. Any enforcement or investigative encounter. This includes temporary detentions, vehicle stops, pedestrian stops, and consensual encounters; b. Service of search warrants or arrest warrants; c. Contact with all complainants, victims, and witnesses (OCC 1701.657 (b) as amended by the 87th Texas Legislative Session). The use of a camera does not change the requirement to obtain written statements; d. Transporting of any complainants, victims, witnesses, detainees, and arrested persons; e. Any situation where the deputy reasonably believes that the recording may provide evidence in criminal or internal investigations; f. Any non-enforcement encounter that becomes antagonistic, confrontational, assaultive, or enforcement oriented; or g. Upon Master Control announcing any CODE via the internal PA system in the ADC or Annex, where any member(s) of SERT responds or reacts to the CODE regardless of the type of CODE (1, 2, 3, etc.). h. Texas Occupations Code (OCC) 1701.655 (c-1) requires a peace officer who is equipped with a body worn camera and actively participating in an investigation to keep the camera activated for the entirety of the officer’s active participation in the investigation unless the camera has been deactivated in compliance with this Chapter. 3. Discretionary Use: i. A deputy equipped with a body worn camera may choose not to activate the camera or may choose to discontinue a recording currently in progress for any encounter with a person that is not related to an investigation. (OCC 1701.657(b)) j. A deputy may choose to record non-enforcement encounters when a recording could have 3  value as evidence. 4. Reporting requirements: a. Deputies must include the existence or absence of any associated recording in their reports. b. For any mandatory use incident, a deputy must document in their report or CAD notes why a recording was not made, was interrupted, or was terminated early. 5. Deputies shall not be assigned to a new call before the end of their current call, due to video recording restrictions. B. RESTRICTIONS ON CAMERA USE 1. Cameras shall be used only in conjunction with official enforcement duties. 2. Cameras shall not be used to record: a. Communications with Sheriff’s Office personnel or other official personnel (i.e. other government or law enforcement personnel) without the permission of the Sheriff or Sheriff’s designee, unless necessary for an authorized law enforcement purpose. b. Encounters with undercover employees, confidential informants, covert operations, unless necessary for law enforcement purposes. c. When on break or otherwise engaged in personal activities. d. In any location where individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as a restroom or locker room, unless needed for law enforcement purposes. C. DEACTIVATION OF THE BWC Once their BWC is activated, deputies shall not deactivate or mute their BWCs until the investigative or enforcement activity involving a member of the public has concluded. If enforcement or investigative activity resumes, the deputy shall re-activate the BWC and continue recording. In all instances, deputies shall audibly record the reason for deactivation or muting on the BWC. Deputies shall not deactivate or mute the BWC at any time unless: 1. An employee on a perimeter or assigned to a static post where he or she is not in contact with citizens or actively part of the investigation, may place the BWC on Standby mode to conserve battery life. The BWC should be reactivated when these circumstances no longer apply. 2. Discussing issues or concerns with a doctor, nurse, or paramedic. 3. A witness or victim refuses to provide a statement if recorded and the encounter is non- confrontational. 4. Recording is inappropriate because of the victim’s or witnesses’ physical condition, emotional 4  state, age, location or other sensitive circumstances (e.g., a victim of rape, incest, other form of sexual assault, or inside a hospital). 5. Extraordinary circumstances exist, with supervisor approval. 44.05 EQUIPMENT A. Deputies who are assigned camera equipment must use the equipment in accordance with this policy. No deputy who is assigned a BWC will start their regular tour of duty without having their BWC on their person. All deputies will have their BWC and related equipment in working order. B. Camera equipment use and care is the responsibility of the individual deputy and will be used with reasonable care to ensure proper functioning. Deputies shall inspect and test the camera prior to each shift in order to verify proper functioning and adequate battery power. C. Deputies shall notify a supervisor, in writing, of lost equipment or equipment malfunction as soon as possible so that a replacement unit may be procured. D. Use of personally owned body worn camera equipment for Sheriff’s Office official duties is prohibited. 44.06 REVIEWING PROCEDURES A. Recordings may be reviewed in any of the following situations: 1. By an authorized employee to make sure the cameras are working during required checks. 2. By a supervisor for periodic inspections as authorized by this policy. 3. By authorized Sheriff’s Office personnel as part of an official investigation, such as a personnel complaint, administrative inquiry, or a criminal investigation. 4. By authorized persons for the purpose of reviewing evidence. 5. By the Training Unit for the purposes of training. B. A deputy is entitled to access any recording of an incident involving the deputy and is also entitled to choose which recording or recordings of said incident to access before being required to make a statement or report about the incident. (See Chapter 45 Deputy Involved Shootings and Custodial Deaths for report requirements.) C. Citizens shall not be allowed to review the recordings at the scene unless needed for a law enforcement purpose, which shall be authorized by a supervisor and documented in a case report. D. No employee shall edit, alter, erase, duplicate, share, copy, download or otherwise distribute recordings in any manner without prior written authorization and approval of the Sheriff or Sheriff’s designee. E. Body Worn Cameras, the audio/video they contain, and the audio/video downloaded from the BWC 5  are considered evidentiary material and shall be treated as such to include the proper handling, collection, and storage of such material in the case of an investigation. 44.07 SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES A. Supervisors will conduct monthly inspections of recordings to ensure all deputies are complying with this policy, to ensure the equipment is operating properly, to identify recordings of value for the Training Division, and to identify any areas in which additional training or guidance is required. B. Supervisors shall conduct regular inspections of recordings to ensure all deputies are following guidelines for the use force, including the use of deadly force and less-lethal force, in accordance with applicable state and federal laws and Chapter 9 Use of Force of the Sheriff’s Manual of Policy and Procedure. C. Reports of noncompliance with this policy will be forwarded within the chain of command to determine if discipline or additional training is required. 44.08 ACCESS, RETENTION, AND STORAGE A. Deputies shall physically dock their BWC and upload all videos on their next regularly scheduled duty day. Recordings shall not be uploaded later than 72 hours from the deputy’s last regular duty assignment or upload unless supervisor approval has been given to extend beyond the 72 hour period. Each recording shall contain the date, camera identifier, name of assigned deputy, category, case number (if applicable) or CAD reference (incident) number. B. Access to recordings is restricted for official use only and must be authorized by the Sheriff or Sheriff’s designee or as allowed under this policy or other law. Accessing, copying, or releasing recordings for non-law enforcement purposes is prohibited, unless authorized by the Sheriff or Sheriff’s designee, or as allowed under this policy or other law. C. Access to stored recordings must be audited by the video evidence custodian to ensure that only authorized users are accessing the files in accordance with this policy. D. Recordings must be securely stored and retained consistent with applicable state records retention laws (Texas Occupations Code Title 10 Chapter 1701 Subchapter (N) Body Camera Program) , including the following: 1. (Occupations Code 1701.660) Recordings created with a body camera and documenting an incident that involves the use of deadly force by a deputy or that is otherwise related to an administrative or criminal investigation of a deputy will not be deleted, destroyed, or released to the public until all criminal and civil matters have been finally adjudicated and all related administrative investigations have concluded. 2. A recording may be released to the public if it is determined that the release furthers a law enforcement purpose. (in accordance with Chapter 44 Appendix A) 3. Recordings shall be retained as follows: (Texas Occupations Code 1701.655 (b)(2) states that all video will be retained for a minimum of 90 days) 6  Category Retention Schedule Patrol Class 180 Days Daily Fleet Inspection 1 Year Accidental 2 Years Crash 5 Years Detention 5 Years Misdemeanor Offense Report 5 Years Reportable Incident 5 Years Traffic 5 Years Other 5 Years DWI 10 Years Recovered Stolen Vehicle 10 Years Felony (Second, Third & State) 10 Years Felony (Capital & First) 50 Years Pending Review Until manually deleted Restricted Until manually deleted Training Demo Until manually deleted Uncategorized Until manually deleted E. Requests to delete recordings (e.g., in the event of a personal or accidental recording) must be submitted and approved by the Sheriff or Sheriff’s designee in accordance with state record retention laws. All requests and final decisions shall be kept on file. F. For the purposes of retention only - any recordings that are captured and downloaded from the camera of a BCSO operated UAV shall be stored in accordance with the above BWC retention schedule. 44.09 REQUEST FOR COPIES A. Requests for copies of recordings by the public will be handled in accordance with public information requests under Chapter 552 of the Texas Government Code, Chapter 1701 of the Texas Occupations Code and any other applicable statute. B. Video evidence custodians produce all copies of video evidence. A copy of a recording for internal use only may be made upon request. C. Requests for copies of recordings by other law enforcement agencies for an official purpose are to be submitted in writing to a video evidence custodian. The request must be signed by the requesting officer and endorsed by the requestor’s supervisor. D. The Sheriff’s Office may not release any portion of a recording made in a private space, or of a recording involving the investigation of conduct that constitutes a misdemeanor punishable by fine only and does not result in arrest, without written authorization from the person who is the subject of the recording. If the person is deceased, a representative of the deceased may authorize the release. (Texas Occupations Code 1701.661 (f)) 7 E. An employee who releases a recording without permission of the Sheriff’s Office may be charged with a Class A misdemeanor, and subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination (Texas Occupations Code 1701.659). F. All copies of recordings released under this section and Chapter shall be released with the appropriate statutory redactions (e.g. juveniles, personal identifying information, vehicle information, etc.) G. In the interest of preserving the privacy and dignity of all involved parties, the Sheriff’s Office will redact video evidence details of a graphic nature when releasing copies of recordings to the public. 44.10 USE OF BWC OFF-DUTY A. Deputies who are issued BWCs are required to wear and utilize them according to the procedures set in this Chapter when working any off-duty employment as an extension of police services. (See Chapter 30 Outside Employment) B. Off-duty deputies involved in an incident where the BWC is used, shall immediately notify dispatch for an Incident number or case number to be assigned so that proper tagging can occur. C. Deputies shall follow the procedure outlined 44.08 (A) for docking and uploading video. D. If, while off-duty, the deputy’s BWC is lost/damaged, the deputy shall refer to Section 44.05 (C) of this procedure to obtain a replacement. 44.11 TRAINING All employees who will handle, use, or otherwise come into contact with recordings obtained from BWC or MRS devices will be trained in the operation and/or handling of such equipment and recordings. Additional training may be required at periodic intervals to ensure the continued effective use and operation of the equipment, proper calibration and performance, and to incorporate changes, updates, or other revisions in policy and equipment. 8