Nassau County Police Testing Dashboard-Mounted Cameras
MINEOLA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) - Nassau County police are conducting a pilot program to record officers' interactions with the public.
The dashboard camera pilot program started last month with two cameras in the department's DWI enforcement unit, WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs reported.
"I don't think anybody can question the value of the evidence that is garnered from video cameras," Acting Police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter told Xirinachs.
Nassau County Police Testing Dashboard-Mounted Cameras
"Obviously, we capture a lot of criminal activity on video, whether it's homicides, whether it's police conduct," the commissioner added. "And this is just a point in time where we're conducting a feasibility study."
Nassau County also plans to put "body cameras' on a small number of officers later this year.
Officials say the cameras are valuable tools in preserving evidence for criminal prosecutions. Krumpter said the camera experiment is not the result of recent allegations of police abuse.
The department has not yet figured out how it will manage tens of thousands of hours of video.
In neighboring Suffolk County, police have been using dashboard cameras for DWI enforcement for about 10 years. Officials say they have no plans to expand the program or try body cameras.
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