TAMPA, Fla. — Police body cameras, and their ability to mute, are expected to be discussed at tomorrow's Tampa City Council meeting.
The Tampa Police Department will update the council on the progress it's making in being able to track when officers are muting body cameras.
However, it doesn't appear that will happen soon and it's not the fault of the department, but rather of the creator of the body cameras, Axon.
According to Tampa Police Chief Mary O'Connor, "Currently, Axon's software does not have this functionality...Since the Department’s last appearance in front of City Council, we have reached out to Axon on different occasions to obtain updates on a timeline for the implementation of these features."
A representative for Axon told 10 Tampa Bay on Wednesday that muted video can only be tracked through individual audits of the cameras.
"At this time, the mute and sleep features are not included in those metrics within Axon Performance," an Axon representative wrote in a statement. "However, it's important to note that use of sleep and mute features is captured within the device audit trail."
In other words, the department can observe when video is muted through reviews of any video. However, there is no technology in place that allows the agency to monitor how often officers are muting body cameras while on the job.
The Tampa Police Department introduced the mute and "sleep" features to its body cameras earlier this year, prompting concerns they could be abused in critical moments on the job.
Since the summer, Tampa City Council has been pressuring Tampa PD to track how often cameras are in mute or sleep mode.
On Nov. 18, Chief O'Connor issued the most recent update about the technological parameters which would inhibit them from tracking that data for the time being.
Chief O'Connor has said she implemented the mute and sleep features at the request of the Tampa Police Benevolent Association.
"It's our belief that police operations that operate in the light are the best operations that there are," Tampa Police Benevolent Association spokesperson and general counsel Danny Alvarez said.
Its spokesperson says it allows for personal privacy and discussions of sensitive investigations.
He has no issues with muting being tracked.
"We have no issues with that level of transparency. In fact, I believe that the officer on the street actually would have thought it had already been able to be tracked," Alvarez said.
Until that software is advanced, Chief O'Connor said the department conducts regular checks to ensure what is seen and heard on body cameras is up to TPD standards.