The Minneapolis Police Department will no longer allow officers to deactivate their body cameras while on scene at an incident, aiming to create more public transparency.
Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said he hopes the policy, which will go into effect on Thursday, will help build trust in the community, which was rocked last year by the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody.
“We’ve seen, as a community and as a police force, body camera footage increasingly plays a crucial role in understanding critical events in our community,” Arradondo said. “Accountability is not achieved with any single solution, but changes like this move us toward an even more transparent approach to public safety and building trust with the communities we serve.”
In a joint statement by Arradondo and Mayor Jacob Frey, conversations “about performance or tactics” can still be redacted before body camera footage is released to the public.
Minneapolis, which became the center of the “Defund the Police” movement after Floyd’s death, also banned chokeholds and required that officers announce their presence before carrying out a “no-knock” warrant, except in special circumstances.
Officers are also required to use minimal force, and an assistant city attorney will be embedded to advise on misconduct investigations.
Last year, the City Council voted to reallocate $8 million from the Police Department to other services in the 2021 budget after falling short of a public promise made by some members to dismantle the department completely.
Floyd’s death rocked the world, prompting protests and riots for weeks last summer. Floyd died after officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes to restrain him. Chauvin was charged with unintentional second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Three other former officers involved in Floyd’s detainment, Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao, were charged with aiding and abetting both counts.
