Worcester Police Body Camera Public Meetings May Be Coming

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester officials have promised a series of public meetings before implementing a full police body camera program, and a key city commission appears to be ready to schedule them.

On Monday, the Human Rights Commission (HRC) will host Worcester police officials to discuss, among other bodycam-related items, setting up a series of public "listening sessions" about the devices.

Worcester police tested bodycams during a six-month pilot program in 2019. Following protests in summer 2020 in the wake of police violence in the U.S., District 1 Councilor Sean Rose proposed outfitting every officer with a bodycam. Rose's proposal would've had the cameras in place by January 2021, but a city spokesman told the Worcester Telegram in April that bodycams may not come until 2022.

Monday's HRC meeting will itself provide an overview of the anticipated program. Worcester police Capt. Carl Supernor and Lt. Sean Murtha, who is also a department spokesman, will give an overview of the 2019 bodycam program and what the department learned.

Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security Chief Operating Officer Daniel Nakamoto will talk about a state task force that's setting up guidelines on how departments should acquire and use the devices.

Related: Few Police Wear Body Cams In MA; Cost, Privacy Are Concerns

City Attorney Michael Traynor will talk to the commission about the recent police reform bill, but also how the public records law applies to bodycams. Worcester police withheld a majority of videos from the 2019 pilot showing officers using force by citing exemptions under the public records law.

Finally, the HRC will discuss a schedule of listening sessions in Council districts across the city, according to the agenda. The virtual meeting begins Monday at 6 p.m.