HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016 03-23 Rubén Rosario: McDonald’s shooting a test for Burnsville body-cams PIONEER PRESS 3/23/2016 Main
A test for Burnsville body-cam guidelines
> Rosario
He grew up with domestic violence knocking right next door.
"My best friend at the time, her dad was a domestic abuser," Burnsville Police Chief Eric Gieseke told
me as we chatted recently in Pohlad Hall in Minneapolis Central Library. The 26-year police veteran had
just received an award from the Minnesota Coalition on Government Information for his department's
use of body-worn cameras since 2010 and his adherence to the state data practices law on public access
to such footage.
"Oftentimes, he would beat up her mom and she would come to our house for help, and I remember how
desperate I felt that her dad was always beating up her mom," Gieseke said. "I remember looking out my
window when I was a little kid (and saw police respond). They took him away. That blew me away. That
had an impact on me."
Shining the light of justice on an evil that occurs mostly behind closed doors compelled Gieseke to
pursue a career in law enforcement. Transparency is important to him, one reason his department has
become a state and national model for the use of cameras.
That principle will be tested like never before following an incident that took place two days after we
spoke.
A knife-wielding man was fatally shot Friday during an encounter with several of Gieseke's officers
outside a McDonald's in a parking lot in Burnsville. It was the city's first fatal officer-involved shooting
in 35 years. It is believed to be the first officer-involved shooting in Minnesota captured by body
cameras.
Gieseke reiterated his commitment to openness in an email sent to a coalition board member.
"We will be releasing the officer bodycamera footage ...," Gieseke wrote. "It will become public. We
will neither shy away from our stance and philosophy on body cameras, nor do we wish to compromise
the reputation we have worked so hard to build in this field.
"I can't say the exact date we will distribute the video, but I will tell you that this will not be a situation
like those you've seen in some other cities across the country," he wrote. "We will not get
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lost in a sea of bureaucratic red tape that extends the process out for an unreasonable amount of time."
Gieseke was referring in part to the more than a year it took Chicago officials to release a video of police
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shooting a knife-wielding teen. Independent journalist Brandon Smith, whose lawsuit against the
Chicago police forced the city to release a police dash-cam video, was the keynote speaker at the
Minnesota coalition event.
Of course, release of the Burnsville videos is contingent on a probe of the shooting by the Minnesota
Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the same agency that investigated the Nov. 15 shooting of Jamar
Clark in Minneapolis. Although that probe was completed and sent to the Hennepin County Attorney for
review, the agency refused to publicly release videos of the incident to avoid compromising the
"integrity" of the investigation.
Gieseke said much the same Tuesday.
"Because of the complexity of these types of cases, I must respect both the privacy of those involved and
the BCA's investigative process," he said in an email. "(W)e are working in cooperation with the BCA
and Dakota County Attorney's Office to ensure this can be done with relative quickness."
Still, it will be interesting to see what the footage from such a visual vantage shows. Burnsville began
testing the cameras at the suggestion of a use-of-force instructor. Now, 55 of the force's 75 sworn officers
use the equipment, mostly for traffic stops, domestic calls, pursuits and other emergencies.
"They are an asset," said Burnsville City Attorney Elliot Knetsch. He said the cameras capture the
emotions and nuances of an event much better than a narrative in a police report.
"The cameras paint a picture of the moment, the crucial moment when the crime is fresh, the memories
are fresh, the person's description is vivid," Knetsch said. "Compare that to a cop who just finished his
shift at 4 a.m. and writes a one-page synopsis of what happened. Which one is going to be more
powerful?"
Out of perhaps 100 non-felony cases annually, in which videos are part of the evidence, about three cases
ever lead to trial, he said.
The annual cost to Burnsville of$62,000 provides 58 cameras to the police and four to the fire
department. It covers mounting equipment, docking equipment, a 3-year warranty, data storage, software
licenses and product support, and software licenses for the county and city attorney offices.
"Our cost works out to be approximately $83 per camera per month," said Tom Venables, the city's IT
director. Gieseke believes the cost is worth it.
There were initial concerns the cameras could be used to discipline officers or micromanage them. That's
one reason Gieseke likes that it was a grunt cop rather than management who first came up with the idea
for them.
In a world where everyone is seemingly recording everybody, body cameras will be as much a staple as
clip-on radios, flashlights and handguns. Minneapolis, St. Paul, Maplewood and other agencies soon will
join Burnsville and Duluth.
Others are waiting to see whether the State Legislature passes a bill that provides guidelines for use and
strikes a balance between the public's right to see the videos and privacy concerns of those on camera.
Under current law, most such videos are public to anyone once a police investigation is closed or
becomes inactive.
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A bill authored by state Sen. Ron Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park, was approved by the Judiciary Committee he
chairs and sent to the floor. The House is considering its own versions, "but I believe a bill will pass this
year," Latz said. Reps. Rep. Peggy Scott, R-Andover, and Tony Cornish, R-Vernon Center, have
competing bills with differing versions of what would be public.
A few months ago, an envelope was left for Gieseke at the police station. Inside was a heartfelt Facebook
narrative from Gieseke's childhood friend.
She spoke about growing up in a "childhood house of horrors" during a time when there was no 911. You
simply dialed "O" for operator. One night, when her father broke into the home and laid in wait for her
mother, an intuitive operator picked up cues and dispatched police before a tragedy could occur.
She recalled the hospitality of her neighbors, the Giesekes, particularly her best friend, Eric.
"I have always been grateful to the Giesekes for taking me in on countless occasions when the police and
the ambulance took away my parents— one to jail, the other to the hospital."
The woman now works as an EMT in another state, with aspirations to become a 911 operator.
"Yes, it's pretty special," Gieseke said Tuesday.
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