Boston police commissioner says he would continue body camera program even if union is opposed
Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said during an interview with Boston Public Radio Tuesday that he would order the use of body cameras after a current six-month pilot program, regardless of the outcome of ongoing contract negotiations with the department’s patrolmen’s union.
“If the pilot program proves positive for both the public and the officers, there’s no reason why we wouldn’t do it,” Evans said told WGBH’s Jim Braude and Margery Eagan.
Evans said he thinks the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association will “come around” and see the need for the cameras at the end of the pilot program. So far, he said the program, which has completed its first eight days, is going well.
“The officers are getting used to technology and the feedback has been positive,” he said. “There have been several situations where they have proved their worth to the officers.”
The Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association originally agreed to a voluntary body camera pilot program. But when the department randomly selected 100 participants after no officers volunteered, the union sued. A judge later ruled the department has the authority to order officers to wear cameras.
Evans previously told Boston Public Radio that the union’s pushback over the program hurt the department’s image, sending the message it had something to hide.
“I just had to get out the message that we have nothing to hide,” Evans said. “I think we have one of the best police departments in this country. It was more the change, and like I said, change doesn’t come easy to a police department. We get set in our ways, but I’m hoping that [with] the pilot program, officers will see the value.”
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