Redmond Police Body Cameras: Feedback Needed On Draft Policy

REDMOND, WA — The Redmond Police Department has publicly released a draft policy to show how its proposed body-worn and dash camera program would work and is hoping to hear from residents as the process moves forward.

If approved by the Redmond City Council, the department's proposal is estimated to cost $815,000 to stand up and $635,000 annually to maintain. Redmond would be just the ninth King County agency to equip its officers with body-worn cameras and the fifth to deploy both body and dashboard cameras.

The draft policy offers the first detailed look at how the program would operate in practice, including the scenarios where cameras should be activated and when they may be deactivated. Like similar rules at neighboring agencies, officers would be required to inform people when they are being recorded and can deactivate their body cameras at their discretion when interviewing witnesses or victims. The in-car cameras would activate automatically when emergency lights are activated.

Residents can comment on the policy proposal through Aug. 16 via a simple, three-part online survey. The department said an "extensive" process still lies ahead, including securing the funding, receiving and implementing the equipment and formalizing a final version of the policy.