Vancouver police officers are set to begin using body-worn cameras this fall, following recommendations from a coroner’s inquest into the death of a man who was severely beaten by members of the force seven years ago.
The Vancouver Police Department has been exploring the possibility of cameras since 2009, but expedited the timeline of a pilot program after jurors at the inquest deemed Myles Gray’s death a homicide in May.
Gray was beaten by seven officers in August 2015, leaving him with injuries including hemorrhaging in his testicles and fractures in his eye socket, nose, voice box and rib. He died shortly afterward.
The homicide finding carries no legal responsibility, and none of the officers were charged.
Vancouver’s mayor and council approved the use of cameras for Vancouver police in December, with the goal of equipping all patrol officers by 2025. At that time, staff were ordered to report back to council in 2024 with policy recommendations and a cost estimate.
In the interim, council also approved $200,000 in funding for a body-worn camera pilot program in the VPD’s 2023 budget.
Some 100 officers are now expected to use the new equipment over a six-month period. According to a report from the VPD to the Vancouver Police Board, the procurement process for the tools began last month and ends on June 19.
The report is set to go before the board on Thursday. Vancouver police declined to comment on this story ahead of the meeting.
Global News has reached out to the Vancouver Police Union for comment.
The use of body-worn cameras by police officers is a contentious issue, with proponents arguing that they improve officer and public safety, transparency and accountability, and critics expressing concerns about privacy, data storage and surveillance, particularly of racialized people.
According to B.C. government standards, a privacy impact assessment must be completed and approved prior to the deployment of body-worn cameras. The precise circumstances under which they may be used and information on the policy, must also be made public.
Footage must be stored with restricted access and not altered at any time, and may only be retained for one year from the date it was recorded, then it must be deleted, the standards state.
The BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) is opposed to the VPD’s pilot program, noting serious privacy concerns.
Policy director Meghan McDermott said it’s unclear if public consent will ever be required to be recorded on a police camera, and the notion that “there’s going to be agents of the state walking around collecting just everything, even conversations that people aren’t even aware are being captured,” is still too new.
“It’s a collection of audio and video, and it’s going to be collected in some very sensitive scenarios,” McDermott said Wednesday. “We just don’t think the government system is there and that all the ramifications have been thought through.”
McDermott said she’s not convinced that body-worn cameras reduce police misconduct or brutality either, noting that even in well-filmed settings such as police detachments, people are still killed by police. Body-worn cameras “didn’t save a life” when George Floyd was murdered, she added.
The BCCLA further has concerns that Vancouver police would be in control of the footage once it’s recorded. McDermott suggested an independent third party, such as a human rights commissioner, have access as well.
“Myles Gray’s family had to wait eight long years to even see the faces and the learn the names of the officers involved, so we understand this demand for transparency, accountability,” she said.
“We just don’t think that this tool is the right one, and we think that we can get at that transparency and even get better police-public relations without having this technological, expensive solution.”
Ron MacDonald, chief civilian director of B.C.’s Independent Investigations Office (IIO), supported the expedited pilot program, calling it “good news for the public.” An annual IIO report in 2015 and 2016 reviewed 71 of the watchdog’s investigations and determined body-worn cameras might have helped resolve 93 per cent investigations sooner, possibly leading to cost savings and reduced stress for complainants and officers.
“(Vancouver police) need good policy around that and training,” MacDonald said, “but generally we would like to see them operated in any situation where there may be an interaction between the police and public … that could result in the use of force that might result in serious harm or death.”
MacDonald said some studies have suggested use of force is reduced when body-worn cameras are worn, but “the real goal” is to have “as much high quality evidence” as possible in the investigation of crime and police conduct in public.
From a legal perspective, criminal lawyer AK Puri said there are pros and cons to the technology.
“Their interaction with the general public will be recorded of course, so there is no room for guess work,” the Acumen Law Corporation staffer told Global News. “We can present the facts as is, we can look at what actually happened instead of relying on the police officer as evidence from a standalone viewpoint.”
The footage may aid members of the public with complaints about police misconduct. Those who do not wish to be record, however, may encounter some challenges, he added.
“Let’s say a person is stopped at a traffic stop and they’re being recorded. Was this traffic stop itself valid in the first place?” he explained.
“Then it would render the recording invalid. So yes, there are concerns, but it would depend upon the individual situation, why the police have come into that direction with the person in the first place.”
If a police officer doesn’t turn their body camera on prior to an interaction, it’s something that can be raised and flagged in court, Puri said.
Members of the RCMP are currently piloting body-worn cameras in Nova Scotia, Nunavut and Alberta in anticipation of a national rollout in 18 months. Earlier this year, the Alberta government announced that cameras would become mandatory for all police working in the province.
Mike Farnworth, B.C.’s public safety minister, has previously said the decision to use them in this province will be up to municipalities.
In its report to the Vancouver Police Board on Thursday, the VPD said it recognized the “profound and lasting impact” of Gray’s death on everyone, and thanked the jurors in the coroner’s inquest for their work.
In addition to body-worn cameras, the jurors recommended a full review of police crisis de-escalation training and enhancement of that program, citing “tunnel vision” among officers who responded to the 911 call on the day of Gray’s death. They also suggested a review of policies and procedures around toxicology samples, with consideration that they be held until the completion of all investigations, rather than discarded after six months.
Gray, 33, died after officers responded to a 911 call about an agitated man who had sprayed a woman with a garden hose. A forensic pathologist testified at the inquest that Gray was experiencing an “acute behavioural disturbance.”
A single police officer has apologized publicly in connection with Gray’s death, determined to be the result of cardiac arrest complicated by police actions, such as “neck compression,” blunt force injuries, the use of pepper spray and handcuffing.