Caught on Camera
By: Tom Beck
Tags: Law Enforcement, Law, Police, New

Caught on Camera

On the first of this month, every officer in the Medford Police Department started wearing a body camera at all times while on duty.

Officer Jeff Samalonis stands next to a bank of body cameras, which every officer in the department will dawn while on duty starting on Friday.

On Aug. 21, the Medford Police Department announced every one of its law enforcement officers would be outfitted with body cameras, joining an ever-growing number of police departments to utilize the technology.

“My officers are very excited to begin wearing them,” Chief of Police Rich Meder said. “They’re very much in favor of wearing them.”

Meder said the police department had been researching the idea over the past few years.

“Given everything that’s going on in the world, and quite frankly the demand from the citizens for more transparency and to foster that better relationship, I felt that after discussing it with the township manager [and] town council that now is the appropriate time for us to research and deploy them,” Meder added. “I think it’s a protection not only for our citizens but also for our officers, and that way all of our encounters are encaptured and there’s no questions as to what occurred while they’re out there.”

Meder stressed the use of body cameras isn’t just a way to protect citizens. It’s also protection for the officers.

“At times, our officers’ word is questioned and unfortunately, that’s a trend now,” Meder said. Still, Meder stands by his officers: “Our officers are professional officers, they’re doing what they’re supposed to do and this is going to, in my opinion, show it.”

Before coming to the decision, Meder spent time talking with chiefs of other police departments in Burlington County, including Evesham Township Police Chief Christopher Chew, Mt. Laurel Police Chief Dennis Cribben, Palmyra Police Chief Scott Pearlman and Moorestown Police Chief Lee Lieber. All of them, Meder said, “have given nothing but positive feedback on it.”

“We have a very good and a very strong Burlington County Police Chiefs Association, so we’re constantly talking about new technology and what’s on the cutting edge, what they’re doing, what I’m doing and what works for them, what may work for us, things like that. There’s constantly a network for that,” he added.

The police department has already sent $91,500 to the vendor supplying the cameras, $75,000 of which came from a capital bond passed in 2016. The remaining $16,500 came from a grant from the state.

However, that $91,500 figure covers more than simply the cameras. According to Meder, it also covers licensing for the software, warranties and fees for storing the footage.

Additionally, the company will replace the cameras every two and a half years, according to Meder.

“As new technology becomes available, those cameras will be replaced,” he said.

In the event of a controversial arrest or altercation involving an officer, would the officer’s body camera footage be released to the public? Meder says while the footage “is a public record,” a decision to release the footage wouldn’t always be entirely up to him.

“There are attorney general directives regarding officer involved shootings, for instance, where we’re not the ones who would make that decision,” he said. “That decision would come from the shooting investigation team led by the attorney general’s office and things like that. If somebody were to OPRA that, it is a public record.”

Meder said the footage could be released as long as it doesn’t fall under any of the exemptions for open public records.

“But that’s going to be a case-by-case basis on what it is and who has the authority to release it — whether that’s going to be from the township, the county prosecutors or potentially the attorney general’s office,” he said.