Kalispell Police to try out body cameras

The Kalispell City Council on Monday hesitantly set aside $30,000 for a trial run to outfit police officers with body cameras.

The council approved the money Monday night as part of the city’s annual budget. The $30,000 will allow the Kalispell Police Department to purchase five to 10 body cameras.

City Manager Doug Russell advocated for the funds.

“We’re recommending to do a trial for this year to make sure we’re doing it right,” Russell said. “If it is something that works, we’re going to have to have a much larger discussion next year.”

Russell said as police departments across the country move toward body cameras, the local trial will help determine if they are right for Kalispell.

He said before the first camera is activated, the city will have to create a policy that will spell out when officers are expected to record, how the city will respond to Freedom of Information requests and where the data will be stored.

After roughly a half hour of discussing whether Kalispell officers needed body cameras, council member Tim Kluesner asked Police Chief Roger Nasset, “Do you want these or are they being forced upon you?”

Nasset said the trial period will allow city departments to work together to determine if body cameras are something Kalispell needs — from a community and a law enforcement perspective.

“There are still a lot of unknowns out there in relation to the body cameras,” Nasset said. “One of the things that we expect is legislation coming at the state level, and I think it’s beneficial for us to be ahead of that curve and know exactly what they’re about.”

Nasset echoed Russell’s concern over body camera policy, such as when officers would be expected to record and who would be responsible to go over footage if an incident took place.

Since policies across the country vary widely, Kalispell officials will have to start at the beginning to decide what body cameras on local officers would entail.

“I don’t think anything is being shoved down my throat at this point, I really do believe it’s important for us to know more about them,” Nasset told the council. “We’re going to look at it and see if implementing [body cameras] fits our community.”

He said if the city decides to stick with the cameras after this year, officials will have to determine how to pay for them — he estimated video storage alone would cost $1,000 to $1,500 a year per officer.

Council member Rod Kuntz said he was reluctant to fund the body camera project, but chose to support it because it was a trial.

He said if the department continued to make good hires and manage officers well, Kalispell wouldn’t have “the problems that are necessitating this in other jurisdictions.”

“I see this as being Pandora’s box, and one thing leading to another in more man-hours ... to correct a problem we don’t have,” Kuntz said. “And the fact that we have to spend $30,000 in taxpayer money to cover our assets is a heartburn for me.”

The council’s budget passed with a 6-2 vote.

Since the 2014 police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and other officer-related fatal shootings nationwide, demands have risen for officers to wear body cameras to deter misconduct and capture clashes.

But resistance to the cameras, cost concerns and legal factors have complicated the push for body cameras.

In 2015, the Montana Department of Transportation awarded more than $140,000 in grants to law enforcement agencies, largely to purchase body cameras and dash cameras. The Lewis & Clark County Sheriff’s Office announced it would buy at least 15 body cameras with the funding.

In January, the Butte-Silver Bow Sheriff’s Department announced it would outfit all 52 of its law officers with body cameras.

Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at khoughton@dailyinterlake.com.