Bellevue PD gets body cameras

BELLEVUE — While the work of the Bellevue Police Department hasn't changed due to COVID-19, the way its officers respond has. Bellevue chief of police Marc Linder said for minor complaints, the department tried to handle them over the phone or through email, to limit the officer's exposure to the public. "Obviously if it was an emergency, or we needed to be somewhere, we were there," he said. Moving forward, Linder said Bellevue's police will continue to enforce any other mandates that come down from the governor. He said his department was fortunate enough to obtain the rubber gloves, masks and hand sanitizer it needed to keep officers safe. "Some of the trainings we wanted to go to were canceled or we didn't go because of not wanting to go too far from our community," he said. "We had a lot of support from our community, with people coming by with cards or dropping off cookies, which was very thoughtful and very much appreciated." Another challenge the department faced was being short-staffed, Linder said. One officer was out due to an injury, another changed careers and others were out due to sickness. "We hope the COVID stuff gets under control and everybody can move forward and we can get the training that we need," he said. Linder said one of the most exciting things of 2020 was the department started a body camera program in April. "It's working out pretty good. Now a lot of these officers that weren't for them, are," he said. "The public has a right to make sure people are held accountable, so if there is an issue in the future, at least they will have that as a means to resort back to." Linder said one of the best things about the body cameras is being able to review the footage, in case an officer is accused of misconduct, and to catch footage of things an officer may have missed. He said the department is hoping to get cameras inside of the police cruisers, too. "We're looking into, if we have the money, maybe doing the cameras inside the cars too," Linder said. "This year's budget will dictate a lot of what happens this year." In Norwalk, the police department does not have body cameras, but the idea has been considered. "We had several officers research different suppliers of cameras and what it always boils down to is cost," Norwalk police chief Mike Conney said. "(It's about) what's more important at this time." Conney said the city's budget for 2021 is tight and the next step for saving money is to consider layoffs. Mayor Dave Light said body cameras would be great for the police department but the city has to be in a different financial position first.