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Tim Nelson

Bodycam use by Minneapolis police hits record highs this year

Minneapolis Police Departments body cameras.
An officer at the Minneapolis Police Department shows a body-worn camera in September 2017.
Maria Alejandra Cardona | MPR News

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Minneapolis police are turning on their body cameras during nearly all of their interactions with the public, according to a report presented to the City Council Wednesday.

Reviews showed officers used the cameras an average of 95 percent of the time in April, May and June — up from 93 percent in the first quarter of this year.

The reviews indicate a significant improvement since the initial months of the body camera program in 2017, when officers were activating their cameras in less than a third of cases.

City officials cracked down the body camera policy in 2018, in the months following the killing of Justine Ruszczyk. Officers didn’t activate their cameras in time to capture the shooting.

Council member Alondra Cano, who chairs the public safety committee, praised this year’s results.

“Body cameras are often framed as one of the most important accountability, transparency and police reform tools,” Cano said. “I don't want to underestimate just how powerful this is.”

The report to the council's committee also showed high levels of compliance with record keeping requirements in spot checks of the stored video. The city hopes automation will help better match videos and department records of individual incidents.