Customs and Border Protection staff won't require officers to wear body cameras
Source: AP
SAN DIEGO Customs and Border Protection staff concluded after an internal review that agents and officers shouldnt be required to wear body cameras, positioning the nations largest law enforcement agency as a counterweight to a growing number of police forces that use the devices to promote public trust and accountability.
The yearlong review cited cost and a host of other reasons to hold off, according to two people familiar with the findings who spoke on condition of anonymity because the findings have not been made public. It found operating cameras may distract agents while theyre performing their jobs, may hurt employee morale, and may be unsuited to the hot, dusty conditions in which Border Patrol agents often work.
The findings, in an August draft report, are subject to approval by Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske, who last year announced plans to test cameras at the agency that employs roughly 60,000 people.
The staff report doesnt rule out body cameras but questions their effectiveness and calls for more analysis before they are widely distributed.
Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20151106-customs-and-border-protection-staff-won-t-require-officers-to-wear-body-cameras.ece
Jesus Malverde
(10,274 posts)Setting the tone from the top.
herding cats
(19,558 posts)It's an article I read earlier today.
A U.S. Border Patrol agent has been charged in the death of a man whose decapitated body was found floating near Texas' South Padre Island, a sheriff said Friday.
Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio said Joel Luna might be tied to a Mexican drug cartel through his two brothers but that the investigation is still ongoing.
Luna is charged with capital murder, engaging in organized criminal activity and tampering with evidence. He's accused in the death of Honduran native Jose Francisco "Franklin" Rodriguez Palacios Paz, whose body was found in March.
Luna is jailed without bond. Jail records didn't list an attorney for the 30-year-old Luna, who has worked as a Border Patrol agent for six years.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/border-patrol-accused-decapitation-death-south-texas-35033160