BPD looks for body camera funding to follow new state recording law

The Blaine Police Department (BPD) is seeking funding to implement a body-worn camera program that will be needed by January to follow new Washington state law that requires officers to record interrogations.

Under the new law, all law enforcement officers must audio and video record any questioning of juveniles and people suspected of committing a felony crime. “The only reasonable way to obey the requirement would be through a body camera program,” BPD chief Donnell Tanksley said.

BPD will apply to a federal grant program once it receives a quote from Axon Enterprise, Inc., a brand used nationwide for law enforcement body cameras. Tanksley estimated a five-year contract would cost nearly $60,000 for the 14-officer department to run a body camera program where every officer has a camera to wear while on patrol.

The U.S. Department of Justice is offering a grant program that has $7.65 million dollars available for small, rural and tribal law enforcement agencies, but Tanksley said the most the department could get is $28,000. “And that’s if we get the maximum,” he said.

The other funding for the program will have to come from the city budget, Tanksley said.

City manager and interim finance director Michael Jones said the police department will either have to reallocate funds budgeted for this year to pay for the program or a budget amendment will have to be submitted to Blaine City Council for the cameras to be ready to use by January.

Both the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) and Bellingham Police Department use Axon body cameras.

With 65 patrol deputies, the WCSO purchased 78 cameras last December and is yet to have all deputies wearing them. WCSO spokesperson Deb Slater said in an email the body-worn cameras have been deployed on a limited basis while the WCSO fine-tunes administrative support.

Implementing a body camera program is not as easy as buying and installing the cameras and pressing record, Tanksley said. It requires data storage availability and administrative officers to redact footage to follow in accordance with the state public records act, which may require additional staff, he said.

Tanksley said body-worn cameras had been a topic of discussion within the department since he joined in summer 2019 and now is the time to get them. “Technology does not get cheaper as the years go by. We need to invest in this now,” he said. “It improves safety and accountability for all parties involved.”

BPD sergeant Timothy Richardson added that all department officers are on board with the use of body cameras.