La Crosse Police Start Wearing Body Cameras

The La Crosse Police Department has started requiring some officers to wear body cameras in an effort to build relationships between citizens and the police.

Six neighborhood resource officers started wearing the cameras earlier this week. They spend a lot of time patrolling on foot or riding bicycles, which means they aren’t recorded by the cameras in their squad cars that typically document interactions between police and the public.

Wearing a body camera holds officers accountable for their actions while on duty, but it also could protect the police from false accusations, La Crosse Police Officer Brooke Patasca said.

“If there was an incident that came up where someone thought that they were harshly treated or improperly treated by an officer, (the police) have that video to show if they were or if they weren’t,” Patasca said.

The La Crosse Police Department hopes to equip each officer with a body camera, but the price of the equipment makes that goal less attainable, Patasca said. Each camera costs around $1,000 and requires updates and maintenance.

Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association President Robert Rosch said high costs have made many police departments think twice about whether they need body cameras.

“There’s probably 300 to 400 departments in the state that have less than 10 officers in the whole department,” said Rosch, who serves as police chief for Hartland, Wisconsin. “Those smaller agencies just simply don’t have the budget other than paying for their officers and their squad cars.”

Body cameras could also have a negative impact on officers’ relationships with the public, Rosch said. Instead of citizens feeling more secure when a conversation is recorded, Rosch worries that requiring body cameras could prevent victims or witnesses from being honest with the police.

“When you know you’re being recorded, you might act a different way or be less willing to either cooperate or be clear in what you’re saying,” Rosch said.

In the last two years, many Wisconsin police departments have started using body cameras including Milwaukee, Janesville, Oshkosh and Wausau. Police in Superior will begin wearing cameras later this month and Green Bay is in the process of purchasing cameras for their officers.