Illinois Police Stop Using Body Cameras

May 17, 2016
Round Lake Park Police officials said that the cameras continued to record when officers believed the devices were turned off -- even when they were using the bathroom.

The Round Lake Park, Illinois Police Department suspended its body camera program after it was discovered that the devices were recording when they weren't supposed to.

The body cameras were designed to record for 30 seconds after the officer manually activated the camera, but were instead recording at all times, according to .

Police officials said that the cameras continued to record when officers believed the devices were turned off -- even when they were using the bathroom.

"I've never seen any of the footage and we locked the system down, but from what I've been told, the videos captured officers in the locker room and using the facilities," Round Lake Park Police Chief George Filenko told the newspaper. "When we found about it, we shut the cameras down and took the devices completely out of service."

The department called in an independent investigator and legal counsel to review the issue and has made all of its officers aware and is currently working with its vendor to find a solution.

"We have explained to them that we are very upset that this happened," Filenko said. "It's inappropriate and obtrusive, and we didn't ask for the cameras to keep recording."

Round Lake Park police began using body cameras in August in an effort to increase transparency between the police department and the residents.

Despite the issues with the devices, the chief said that the body camera program has been a success in not only assisting officers but also defusing potential situations with people being recorded.

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