By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – A group of St. John the Baptist Parish sheriff’s deputies, who are regularly dispatched to crime hotspots in the parish, have recently been outfitted with a new tool that offers an extra set of eyes during encounters with residents choosing to be unruly with law enforcement.

The Sheriff’s Office recently purchased a set of 10 vest-mounted cameras for the department’s Felony Intercept Unit, a team of nine deputies that are regularly called to address large crowds, drug warrants and other high-profile crimes in the parish.

“These are the officers that have the most interaction with residents and are often confronted by large groups of people who have been drinking or causing disturbances,” Sheriff Wayne Jones said. “They are the ones most likely to get injured in a fight or physical altercation, and this new equipment will go a long way in determining who was at fault and whether or not a deputy acted properly.”

Lt. James Bessinger, FIU supervisor, said the cameras go beyond the simple dashboard cameras regularly found in police units in that they can record anything that happens directly in front of a deputy called out to potential criminal activity.

“A dashboard camera will only pick up what happens directly in front of the vehicle,” Bessinger said. “If a struggle takes place on either side of the car, you will lose the ability to see what is taking place. These cameras go with the officer and pick up both video and audio of an encounter, which can be used as evidence in a courtroom setting.”

Bessinger explained that with a simple flick to the lens cap, the camera immediately begins recording every aspect of an encounter. The video is in full color and high definition. Each camera has the capability to record for four continuous hours, but Bessinger said the average encounter usually lasts no more than 20 to 30 minutes.

“It’s helpful because it allows us to capture the one or two suspects causing serious problems while also capturing crowd reaction,” Bessinger said. “Just knowing that the incident is being recorded makes people think twice about doing something they will regret.”

Jones said the camera footage is an important tool in the court setting because it is a visual record of what actually took place in a situation where crowd control is necessary.

“It used to be the citizen’s word against the officer’s word, and sometimes things get skewed and remembered differently,” Jones said. “The day is over where a citizen can come in and say FIU mishandled a situation.”

Bessinger added the system works both ways in that it prevents deputies from changing the perception of what actually happened.

“The cameras contain proprietary software with safeguards on what can and can’t be deleted,” Bessinger said. “Each camera is password protected, and no officer has access to his own video. Administrators are the only people allowed to delete video, and there must be a written record as to what portion of the video was deleted and why. It prevents deputies from abusing the cameras.”