IV. PROCEDURES/ RULES/ REGULATIONS
A. Officer Responsibilities
1. Officers assigned a BWC shall use it in accordance with MPD training, MPD policies, and the manufacturer's recommendations.
2. Officers shall wear the BWC in accordance with MPD training, using mounting equipment provided by the Department. Any alterations to the prescribed use of this equipment must be approved by the BWC coordinator or head of the Business Technology Unit (BTU).
3. Officers shall complete department authorized training in the use and operation of the BWCs prior to being assigned a BWC.
4. Officers shall wear the BWC during their shift at all times when they could reasonably anticipate that they may become involved in a situation for which activation is appropriate in accordance with this policy.
5. Officers shall conduct a BWC equipment check to ensure that equipment is working properly at the beginning of their shift and periodically throughout the shift.
6. Officers shall notify their immediate supervisor as soon as practical of any missing, damaged, or malfunctioning BWC equipment.
7. Officers experiencing a loss of battery power shall remove themselves from service and take immediate steps to charge their BWC. Officers shall notify their supervisor and Minneapolis Emergency Communications Center (MECC) upon removing themselves from service.
8. Officers shall notify their immediate supervisor of any recorded event believed to be of value for administrative review.
9. Officers shall upload all BWC digital data at the conclusion of their shift by placing their BWC in the assigned docking stations or utilizing other department approved uploading procedures.
a. Officers shall classify recorded events as appropriate, based on the options available under the classification and storage software.
b. This classification should be done shortly after the recorded incident is concluded, but must be done prior to upload at the end of the officer's shift.
c. The following classification options will be used:
Category Retention Period
· Training 90 Days
· Test/Start Checks 1 Year
· Petty Misdemeanor 1 Year
· Non-Evidentiary/General Recording 1 Year
· Any Arrest or Misdemeanor Citation 7 Years
· Use of Force 7 Years
· Significant Event Until Manually Deleted/Indefinite Retention (Minimum of 7 years)
· Pending Review Retained until otherwise classified under above categories
10. Officers equipped with a BWC and are operating a squad car equipped with Mobile Video Recording (MVR) equipment shall activate the MVR equipment as required by policy and shall also activate the BWC in compliance with this policy.
11. Officers wearing a BWC are not required to wear an MVR microphone.
12. When feasible, officers are encouraged to inform members of the public that they are being recorded.
a. If asked, officers should inform those inquiring that audio-video recording equipment is in use, unless doing so would be unsafe for officer or members of the public.