After a decade of debate, Madison police have begun a body camera pilot program

On Monday, Madison Police Department officers on the capital city's north side began wearing body cameras as part of a 90-day pilot program.

Last summer, the Common Council voted 16-4 in favor of the pilot program, which will run in Madison's north district until July 14. The north district includes Madison College, Warner Park, East High School and the Dane County Regional Airport.

The officers and their supervisors spent the past few weeks learning how to use the technology and cameras, and professional staff were taught how to access the video storage and handle public requests for video, the City of Madison shared in a press release Tuesday.

The department is using Panasonic cameras for the pilot program, the same system currently used by the department's SWAT team and motorcycle patrol officers. An independent researcher has been hired to study the program and report his findings to department and city leaders.

Although the SWAT team and motorcycle unit use body cameras, other MPD officers do not wear cameras. This puts Madison in the minority of Wisconsin police departments. More than 60% of Wisconsin law enforcement agencies that responded to a 2020 state Department of Justice survey reported their officers wore body cameras.

The Dane County Sheriff's Office is also piloting body cameras this year in its West Precinct. The pilot program will last for one year. The 2024 County Budget calls for $320,000 for 32 cameras, Madison's Channel 3000 reported, and Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said he expects the pilot program to begin by early summer.

Madison leaders have debated police body camera use for a decade

Police body camera use has been a subject of controversy in Madison since at least 2014.

In late 2014, then-Alderman Scott Resnick proposed a body camera pilot program. Then-Police Chief Mike Koval expressed some concerns about the proposal, saying cameras might have a chilling effect on officers, Channel 3000 reported.

Advocates pushed for body cameras following the March 6, 2015, deadly shooting of Tony Robinson, 19, an unarmed biracial man who was killed by an MPD officer. However, later that year, the body camera pilot proposal was rejected by the Community Policing and Body Camera Ad Hoc Committee.

In April 2020, a new six-member Police Body-Worn Camera Feasibility Review Committee was formed and included two members of the previous committee. The new committee recommended Madison start with a pilot program before expanding to all districts. In January 2021, the committee released a 57-page report outlining the accountability steps necessary to implement the body camera technology.

In April 2022, the Common Council voted to implement the pilot program. The vote was contingent on the city attorney's office reviewing the police department's body-worn camera policy, which establishes procedures for the cameras to document incidents involving police officers and the public while protecting people's right to privacy, the Capital Times reported. The Common Council authorized the body camera program last summer.