FILE - In this March 21, 2018, file photo, former Minneapolis Police Officer Mohamed Noor leaves the Hennepin County Public Safety Facility with his attorney, Thomas Plunkett, left, after posting bail in Minneapolis. Noor is charged with murder and manslaughter in the July death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, who had called 911 to report a possible sexual assault behind her home. Police in Minneapolis announced Wednesday, April 4, 2018, new steps to make sure officers use body cameras in the wake of last summer's fatal shooting. (Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP, File)
April 04, 2018 - 10:56 AM
MINNEAPOLIS - The Latest on the Minneapolis Police Department's stricter body camera policy announced Wednesday (all times local):
12:55 p.m.
Minneapolis police officers who fail to comply with a stricter body camera policy will face discipline ranging from unpaid suspensions up to termination.
Mayor Jacob Frey says the policy has teeth for the first time.
Failure of an officer to activate the camera when required can now result in a 40-hour suspension for the first offence, and it can get the officer fired if there are aggravating factors.
The new rules require officers to activate their cameras at least two blocks away, or immediately if dispatched to a closer incident.
Chief Medaria Arradondo (meh-DAIR'-ee-uh air-ah-DON'-do) tightened the policy after last summer's fatal shooting of an unarmed Australian woman who had called 911 by an officer who hadn't activated his body camera. But Arradondo acknowledged that no officers were disciplined despite lacklustre compliance.
___
9 a.m.
Police in Minneapolis are announcing new steps to make sure officers use body cameras in the wake of last summer's fatal shooting of an unarmed Australian woman who had called 911.
The new requirements will include stricter requirements for activation and progressive discipline for officers who don't do it. Chief Medaria Arradondo (meh-DAIR'-ee-uh air-ah-DON'-do) and Mayor Jacob Frey were unveiling the plan Wednesday.
The department was strongly criticized after last July's fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk (ROOS'-chehk) Damond because the officers involved hadn't activated their cameras. Performance is still lacklustre nine months after the department tried to address the issue.
The new rules require officers to activate their cameras at least two blocks away, or immediately if dispatched to a closer incident.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018