MINNEAPOLIS -- 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.
"This new policy leaves less to chance, less to interpret and gives officers and their supervisors a stronger sense of what is expected. That's a good thing," Mayor Frey said.
The new rules require officers to activate their cameras at least two blocks away, or immediately if dispatched to a closer incident.
"If an early deactivation occurs, our officers will be prepared to thoroughly and totally document any reasons for it," Mayor Frey said.
Failure of an officer to activate the camera when required in situations involving reportable use of force, pursuits involving injuries or significant property damage can now result in a 40-hour unpaid suspension and it can get the officer fired if there are aggravating factors.
"We had never had our guidelines and our consequences for discipline for body-worn cameras until today," Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said.
Chief Arradondo tightened the policy after last summer's fatal shooting of Justine Damond. But in the fall, the city internal auditor found that the program still had major flaws—including officers often not activating cameras when they were supposed to.
MPD is also working on a data dashboard so the community can track body camera usage. Chief Arradondo expects the dashboard to be ready before the summer.
"It will move our department forward in terms of building that trust and accountability we must have with our communities to move forward," Chief Arradondo said.
KARE 11 also reached out to the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis. President Bob Kroll said they were able to weigh in on the policy and they are fine with the changes.