Body Cameras For Joliet Police? City Wants Your Input

JOLIET, IL — The Chicago Police Department uses about 8,000 officer worn body cameras. Elgin utilizes 157 body cameras for officers and supervisors. Moline's Police Department has 84 body cameras. Then, there's the Joliet Police Department.

One of the largest police departments in Illinois, the city of Joliet employs about 270 sworn officers and uses zero body cameras. Joliet's past two chiefs, Brian Benton and Al Roechner, chose not to pursue the purchase of body cameras even though scores of police departments across Illinois and the country were embracing and adapting to officer body cameras as a new way of accountability and transparency.

Now that Roechner is out of a job, a new administration at the police department and at City Hall is revisiting the controversial topic of body cameras for officers. Still, the city of Joliet's 2021 operating budget did not include any funds for body cameras.

On Tuesday, the city of Joliet issued a news release announcing it is accepting public feedback on a 13-page policy proposal for body cameras, in the event that Joliet obtains body cameras at some point in the future.

"The City of Joliet is seeking the public's commentary and feedback concerning the preliminary AXON body camera policy for the Joliet Police Department," the city website reads. The form and policy will be available for comment submissions until March 11.

To read the entire 13-page policy proposal, go here.

According to the city's body camera proposal:

• "Officers shall not record individuals who are lawfully engaging in a protest or other First Amendment protected right of speech or demonstration, unless there is at least reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, or to serve any other legitimate law enforcement purpose.
• "In incidents involving an officer’s use of force, officers may review their video of the incident before the officer has completed his/her force investigation report, as long as this fact is noted in the report. Once the officer has completed his/her use of force report he/she may also view the video with the supervisor conducting the force investigation. Any discrepancies or additional information determined by the review of the video will be documented and explained by the supervisor in his/her evaluation of force report."
• "Cameras must be turned off when the victim of a crime requests that the camera be turned off, and unless impractical or impossible, that request is made on the recording; a witness of a crime or a community member who wishes to report a crime requests that the camera be turned off, and unless impractical or impossible that request is made on the recording; or the officer is interacting with a confidential informant used by the Joliet Police Department."
• "An officer may continue to record or resume recording a victim or a witness, if exigent circumstances exist, or if the officer has reasonable articulable suspicion that a victim or witness, or confidential informant has committed or is in the process of committing a crime. Under these circumstances, and unless impractical or impossible, the officer must indicate on the recording the reason for continuing to record despite the request of the victim or witness."

The absence of body cameras means that two recent Joliet police shootings don't have any officer video footage to show what actually happened.

In late December, Joliet police officer Tyles Bayles, a three-year veteran, fatally shot 19-year-old Naperville resident Joe Casten on Second Avenue. Casten called 911 to draw police to the neighborhood and then he threatened to shoot Bayles with his BB gun, according to police.

In late January, Joliet police officer Brian Lanton, a 21-year veteran, shot Cord Whitmore, a 29-year-old man, on Whitmore's front porch in the 1200 block of Nicholson Street. Whitmore has recovered from his gunshot wounds and is now in the Will County Jail facing aggravated assault charges.