Police body cams didn't shut off, invading officers' privacy, federal lawsuit says
Police in a suburban Chicago village recently filed a federal civil rights action about department body cameras, which reportedly made recordings without their knowledge.
The recordings were viewed over a seven-month period, the Daily Herald reports, and the lawsuit (PDF) alleges that the devices continued to record while turned off and in sleep mode. Footage included officers in locker rooms and bathrooms, violating their civil rights and right to privacy, according to the Northern District of Illinois complaint.
The devices were used between September 2015 and May 2016. Dominick Izzo, a Round Lake Park officer and a plaintiff in the case, reportedly discovered the footage while reviewing video from his body camera.
The department stopped using the body cameras after the problem was discovered. George Filenko, the village’s police chief, claimed that an independent investigator and an attorney have been hired to review what happened, according to the article. He told the Chicago Tribune that he has not seen the videos in question and that the plaintiffs refused to speak with outside counsel investigating the matter.
“The police officers who filed the lawsuit against the village made a quick rush to judgment, without considering all of the facts,” Filenko wrote in an email to the Daily Herald. “Not only did the plaintiff officers jump the gun in filing the lawsuit, they also refused to cooperate with the investigation initiated to get to the truth of the matter.”
