Public Meeting Notice  Law Enforcement Body Camera Task Force Meeting

Chair Davis called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m., took attendance, and established a quorum was present.

Members Present

Chairwoman Angela F.F. Davis (EOPSS Asst. Undersecretary of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice)

Vice-Chair Cpt. Steven McCarthy

Attorney Alyssa Hackett

Chief Thomas W. Fowler

Chief Steve Sargent

DA Michael O’Keefe

Attorney Emiliano Falcon-Morano

Attorney Grace Lee

Attorney Hillary Farber

Attorney Rose King

Sgt. Timothy King

Attorney Stephen Carley

Attorney Steven J. Brooks

Tim Mitchell

Officer Kaleigh Marshall

Officer Joseph Santiago

Members Absent

Fred Taylor

Officer Israuel Marrero

Officer Carmelo Ayuso

Sheriff Patrick McDermott

Deborah Batista

Chair Davis welcomed the membership back from holiday break and thanked them for their work since starting in September of 2021.  She acknowledged Vice Chair McCarthy completing the State Police body camera roll-out and announced that the administration awarded just over $4 million in state funds to 64 municipalities for the purpose of launching or strengthening existing body camera programs over the holidays.

Vote to approve minutes, 9:35 a.m. to 9:40 a.m.

A motion was made and approved for the December 21st meeting minutes with edits to be accepted into the record.

Chief Sargent asked to be recognized and stated that an MOU with the Police Union is needed to start a body camera program and that he is hoping to start his department’s program in the new year. Chief Sargent directed his question to the Task Force inquiring if anyone has heard about this process from other municipalities. Chief Fowler responded that collective bargaining unions are addressing the impact of working conditions and he will connect with Chief Sargent for further follow up.

Public Comment Section, 9:40 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. 

Chair Davis invited members of the public to share their thoughts with the group.  Ann Marie Grant was recognized and stated that even though money was released for body cameras, policy is not law.  She believes that there should be a law mandating that all police officers wear body cameras.

Subcommittee Updates, 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

Daniel Nakamoto gave an update regarding the Technology and Procurement Subcommittee. The subcommittee should be providing written drafts on schedule.  The Privacy and Record Keeping Subcommittee was running behind schedule.   The Subcommittee has also agreed to defer the issue of whether officers can view body camera footage prior to making a written statement as it is a controversial issue.  Dan also suggested the possibility of reaching out to researchers in higher education that may be able to shed light on the science behind memory and perception issues relating to viewing camera footage. Chief Fowler added that if it allows the Task Force to be more informed it will be helpful. Attorney Rose King added that it would be informative to have an expert but that it seems the legislature has already decided on the matter.  Attorney King asked how the group would address this in the final report. Captain McCarthy added that if the Task Force takes a strict interpretation then there would be nothing to discuss, but the Task Force can make recommendations on issues that are left unresolved by the language.  Captain McCarthy noted that the language on viewing body camera footage refers to incidents involving an officer.

Sgt. Tim King agreed with Dan Nakamoto regarding researchers, but he added that the Task Force would have to take into consideration whether there has been peer review of the research-based articles and studies.

DA O’Keefe stated that he is troubled by the notion that the legislature created this Task Force to provide recommendations, yet they already pre-determined what some guidelines must be. Dan will continue seeking more information and Chief Fowler can follow-up if more leads arise. Attorney Hillary Farber suggested that a minority report could be submitted by the group and she is willing to assist Dan on the research aspects from academics.

Attorney Farber asked the Task Force if there was legislative history on the decision that officers would not be able to view camera footage. Attorney Walker responded that there is no legislative history because the legislators did not hold a hearing on the police reform bill.   Attorney Stephen Carley reiterated Attorney Walkers’s comments and added that generally legislative history is hard to find in Massachusetts.

Attorney King noted that the issue of viewing footage was originally to be addressed by the Training, Discipline, and Supervision Subcommittee. Chair Davis referred to Dan and Vice Chair McCarthy for clarification. Cpt. McCarthy clarified that the recommendation would come from Training, Discipline and Supervision Subcommittee, but the issue was being discussed by several subcommittees. Dan added that this issue was also given to Privacy and Record keeping and stated that there is overlap with subcommittees. Attorney Carley stated that it makes sense for the issue to be housed with one subcommittee to avoid duplication of efforts. He stated his recollection that the topic was within the Training, Discipline and Supervision Subcommittee.  Chair Davis confirmed Attorney Carley’s recollection. Chair Davis went on to say that if members outside that particular subcommittee have specific thoughts and opinions on the topic that they are welcome to submit their feedback to Vice Chair McCarthy for the Subcommittee’s consideration.

Cpt. Mcarthy provided an update on the Training Supervision, and Discipline Subcommittee, which has begun consideration of a framework for Training and Supervision, and Discipline.

Sgt. Tim King stated that due to the recent media coverage we are under scrutiny to meet the January 14th deadline. He further stated that the Task Force has a lot of work to do in ten days and voiced concern regarding meeting the deadline. Dan Nakamoto stated that the Technology and Procurement Subcommittee has a chance of meeting the deadline however Privacy and Record Keeping will not have a completed draft. Cpt. McCarthy stated that Training, Discipline, and Supervision will have drafts but not by the deadline. Chair Davis stated that a rough draft will be sufficient and we must be vigilant to meet our obligations in a timely fashion,

Topics not reasonably anticipated/other, 10:45 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Chief Fowler asked if the Task Force can discuss how to appropriately handle inquiries from the media. Chair Davis responded that the Communications team in EOPSS is available to assist when members would like assistance. Suleyken Walker advised that members have a right to speak directly to the media and Chair Davis agreed.

Hillary Farber inquired about the Facial Recognition Report and when it would be available. Emiliano Falcon-Morano responded that the report will be available by the end of the month.

Adjournment

Chief Sargent motioned to adjourn the meeting, Attorney King second the motion. Meeting adjourned at 10:21am.

AGENDA

1. Call to order & attendance, 9:30 a.m. to 9:35 a.m.
2. Vote to approve minutes, 9:35 a.m. to 9:40 a.m.
3. Public Comment Section, 9:40 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.  
4. Subcommittee updates, 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.
5. Topics not reasonably anticipated/other, 10:45 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
6. Adjournment, 11:00 a.m.

Upcoming Meetings:

January 18, 2022, 9:30 a.m.

February 1, 2022, 9:30 a.m.