HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015/02/17 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session Jfl St. Louis Park OFFICIAL MINUTES
MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL STUDY SESSION
ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA
FEBRUARY 17, 2015
The meeting convened at 7:00 p.m.
Councilmembers present: Mayor Jeff Jacobs, Tim Brausen, Steve Hallfin, Gregg Lindberg,
Susan Sanger, and Jake Spano.
Councilmembers absent: Anne Mavity.
Staff present: City Manager (Mr. Harmening), City Attorney (Mr. Scott), Chief of Police (Mr
Luse), Deputy Chief of Police (Mr. DiLorenzo), Chief Information Officer (Mr. Pires), and
Recording Secretary(Ms. Hughes).
1. Police Body Camera Trial Project
Mr. Luse presented the staff report and discussed the perceived benefits of body cameras,
including accountability and transparency, as well as issues related to data retention. He advised
there is no pushback from the Police Department regarding the use of body cameras and the
primary concern at this time relates to records retention and the costs associated with data
retention and public data requests.
Mayor Jacobs stated he was in favor of using police body cameras on a trial basis.
Councilmember Sanger stated she was willing to do a pilot project and asked if the Police
Department has a policy statement regarding when the body cameras are turned on and off She
also asked if the Police Department has a draft privacy policy.
Mr. Luse stated that the City of Burnsville has a policy in place and this policy was used as a
model to provide guidance to the City during the trial period
Mr. Scott agreed to provide Council with a copy of the draft policy and stated the document is
intended to be in place during the trial penod, adding that if the City determines that body
cameras will be used beyond the trial penod, the policy will need to be further reviewed.
Councilmember Sanger asked if the City has a plan for capturing the costs involved in the use of
body cameras so that Council can make an assessment regarding costs associated with data
retention as well as staff time.
Mr. Harmening indicated that staff would track any costs during the trial period, including
capital costs and staff time.
Councilmember Lindberg asked if the City currently has sufficient staff to respond to any good
faith data requests.
Mr. Luse replied that sufficient staff exists during the trial period but not beyond the trial period
He stated that when someone submits a data request, the Police Department will work with the
City Attorney to respond to the request, adding that the Police Department will follow its policy
and the law as wntten today.
Special Study Session Minutes -2- February 17, 2015
Councilmember Brausen stated his preference that the Police Department not use body cameras
because of the data retention issues and significant resources required. He felt that the Police
Department was doing a great job and no complaints about officer conduct are being received.
Councilmember Spano stated he would like to proceed with the trial project. He agreed that the
data retention and data request issues could become onerous and if that is the case, the Police
Department could decide to re-evaluate the use of body cameras based on cost,
Councilmember Sanger asked about cnteria for evaluating whether the trial project was
successful and stated she would like an overall assessment on whether collecting the video has
been useful to the City in terms of prosecuting cnme.
It was the consensus of the majority of the City Council to proceed with the police body camera
tnal project.
Mr. Luse indicated that staff would come back to Council after the tnal penod to discuss the
results and whether to continue use of police body cameras.
Mayor Jacobs adjourned the meeting at 7:23 p.m.
Nancy Stroth, ity Clerk Jeff Jaf 4b ,f a/or