Why did police turn off body cameras after Seattle Center shooting? What we know
Were body cameras turned off during the Bite of Seattle shooting?
As investigators piece together what happened at Seattle Center, body camera video could play a critical role. But scanner traffic during the mass shooting response revealed officers were told they could turn them off.
SEATTLE - As investigators work to determine exactly what happened during Sunday's shooting at Seattle Center, Seattle police say body-worn camera footage could play a key role in the investigation.
During a Tuesday press conference at Seattle City Hall, Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes acknowledged questions surrounding available video evidence.
"We’ve had questions concerning camera footage," said Barnes. "We have no Real Time Crime Center cameras in that area, but we are currently reviewing all available camera footage."
Barnes emphasized that, without Seattle Center surveillance cameras covering the area, investigators are relying on other sources of video.
"We also have body-worn cameras," pointed out Barnes. "So if our officers had something on body-worn camera, we can confirm we want to do that. We want to get it right and this is very, very important."
Police bodycam (FOX 13 Seattle)
Officers ordered to turn off bodycams
Police radio traffic recorded Sunday night captured a directive, given twice around 6:38 p.m., instructing all officers to turn off their body-worn cameras, with the exception of those with the suspect during the emergency response.
According to the Seattle Police Department's body-worn video policy manual, officers are expected to record "the entire event to its conclusion" unless they are "specifically instructed otherwise."
Based on the radio traffic, officers were specifically instructed to stop recording, consistent with the department's policy.
Patrick Michaud, a spokesperson for the Seattle Police Department, said the directive is routinely given once a prolonged investigative phase begins.
"That directive is given at the time the longer investigative process begins, typically given when the majority of officers are no longer actively engaging with the public," said Michaud. "The cameras have a limited battery life and storage capacity and an hour-long video will diminish both. If the officer then engages with the public again, they are, by policy, supposed to start the camera recording again."
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The Source: Information in this story comes from original reporting by FOx 13 Seattle reporter Lauren Donovan.