None of the three Syracuse Police officers first to arrive on the scene of Thursday morning’s officer-involved shooting had body cameras, highlighting the ongoing effort to secure the devices for all uniformed officers. Mayor Ben Walsh has made it a priority of his administration, aggressively seeking grants and dedicating city matching funds.
He says it’s frustrating at times like this when there isn’t footage showing exactly what happened between officers and Jakelle Davis.
"I've always felt strongly that the presence of body cameras is helpful to the officers and helpful to the community. It helps to build trust and transparency. There's nothing that the chief and I dislike more than saying 'I don't know.' Body worn cameras are a way to shed some light on extremely critical situations."
Currently, cameras are assigned to 105 officers, but a total of 240 are needed to fully outfit the uniformed division. Each camera is assigned to a specific officer, so they can't be swapped out during shift changes. Now that the pandemic is easing, Walsh and Chief Kenton Buckner have resumed their efforts to add more cameras and upgrade those they already have. But Buckner doesn’t want to set expectations too high for himself or the public.
"When we have body cameras, sometimes we begin to think that is THE information. It is PART of the information. The cameras only capture an angle or the direction the officer was facing at the moment. We have to gather all of the facts, cameras included."
The investigation continues into Thursday’s incident. Jakelle Davis is recovering from non-life threatening injuries. Police shot him as he approached an officer and tried to pull out a gun.
