March 8, 2017
Policing gets a new look
Around Town Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade and St. Patrick’s Day Run will take place Saturday, March 11 . P.6
Community Voices By Charlotte R. Beard . P.2
School
Hazelwood West juniors win award from health department. P.8
Learn & Play Hazelwood Traffic Officer Scott Schnurbusch sits in his patrol car. The Hazelwood Police Department has received a federal grant to purchase body cameras.
Photo courtesy city of Hazelwood
Federal grant puts Hazelwood on path to police body cameras By Nicholas Elmes A $56,000 federal grant means that Hazelwood police officers will soon have a new tool when doing their job. In October 2016 the Hazelwood Police Department was notified that it had received the matching grant, which will also require $56,000 in local funds, to develop appropriate policies and purchase bodyworn cameras and storage for its officers. “We believe that having these cameras will be positive for both the officers and the community,” said Hazelwood Police Lt. Tim Burger. “They will provide a greater degree of transparency for the department and the public. Officers will be able to interact with the public and when incidents happen they will have documentation.” He said that documentation could be useful for a variety of reasons. “Often times we respond to scenes that are extremely hectic when we first arrive,” he said. “We see people at their highest level of stress and sometime have multiple people we are dealing with,” he said, noting that having a video recording of such incidents could be very useful for evidence recovery and further investigation. “Things can be missed. Things can be said that cannot always be documented or recorded with our current equipment. This will provide some help with recording statements from witnesses and victims and that can be helpful in an investigation.”
Burger said having a video recording of an incident could also help with complaints against police. “Sometimes citizens have valid complaints that officers might not handle a situation properly,” he said. “But sometimes a citizen does not understand the intricacies of how law enforcement does their job. This will allow us to review those situations and determine if the guidelines and policies of the department were followed.” Burger said plans for the use of bodyworn cameras for the department were still in the beginning stages. “The grant began on Oct. 1, 2016, and policy development is the first part,” he said. “We are reaching out to employees and the public. We want the public to know we are doing this. We are also reaching out to prosecutors and family courts and community groups to seek input on what is the best policy for the city of Hazelwood.” The city already uses a variety of recording devices and will likely use the existing polices for those devices as a starting point, as well as incorporating a new state law on how police departments should use video recordings. “Since I started in 1989, Hazelwood police officers have always carried an audio recording device on them,” explained Burger. “We record our audio conversations with people for things like traffic stops or
calls for service. In the early 1990s, we got on board with car cameras. Then just this past January the state put in new legislation regarding police recordings so we will obviously follow state law. “Privacy is a huge concern from both the public’s point of view and from the employees’ point of view,” he added. “Thankfully there is now a law on the books to help guide us.” Burger said he hopes to have a draft policy in place by late May or early June. “We are looking to have some sort of presentation to the general public,” he said. “Something where we can have a show and tell and explain it. A lot of people don’t know what body cameras are. They don’t understand how they work, what their purpose is, why we need them and what protections are there for citizens.” After a final policy is approved, the department will begin the process of testing different models of body cameras and selecting a vendor to purchase from. “We have tried out some in the past, but this technology is changing so fast, and there are so many new vendors that the things we tested six months ago have already changed,” said Burger. “It is a quickly-evolving market.” At this point in the process, Burger said he did not know if the department would See ‘POLICING’ page 2
Serving North & Northwest St. Louis County | FREE Online at mycnews.com | Vol. 96 No. 10 | 636-379-1775
Warm up with comfort foods. P.11
Movie
What’s wrong with Oscar? P.16
Weather FRIDAY Sunny; Rain Late 60/42 SATURDAY Rain Likely 55/35 SUNDAY Partly Sunny 56/31 FirstWarn Weather
prepared by meteorologist Nick Palisch. For the latest updates visit www.facebook.com/nickswx.