Wendell police outline body-worn camera program, say state law restricts public release of footage

Wendell Police Chief John Slaughter told the Town Board the department has selected Axon body cameras and is preparing a policy and training program to deploy cameras to patrol officers, adding the town has secured additional grant funding to support the rollout.

The presentation explained the program’s purpose, operational rules and oversight. Slaughter said funding for the cameras was included in the town’s fiscal year 2025 budget and that the department also received a grant to help cover costs. He described expected benefits—improving investigative evidence, strengthening probable-cause documentation, aiding training and increasing transparency—and said the department will maintain quarterly supervisor reviews of footage for training and accountability.

Slaughter said officers will test body cameras at the start of each shift and that cameras will generally be used when officers are dealing with the public or responding to calls for service; officers will normally leave a camera running until they have finished the incident and left the scene. The department intends to use Axon’s Evidence.com system to manage and transfer footage to prosecutors: "Instead of having to burn DVDs and drive it to the courthouse like we used to, now, the evidence manager can simply choose the video and send it right away," he said.

On public release of footage, Slaughter told the board: "There is state law that governs that. So no one can just come in and just look at the body camera. You have to actually go through a judge and get a court order." He added that, in certain high-profile cases, the town manager and the department can petition a court and release footage if deemed in the community’s interest.

Policy and next steps: The board received a copy of the draft policy in the meeting packet. Slaughter said officers will receive training and sign off on the policy before cameras are deployed; the department is also evaluating replacing in-car camera systems with the same vendor so in-car, body camera and Taser deployments will interoperate. He noted the department will continue annual policy reviews and compliance audits and that the department is CALEA-accreditation-aware (the presentation used the term "CALIA" in the packet; staff confirmed the intended reference is CALEA, the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies).

Board response: Commissioners asked how the public could request footage. Slaughter reiterated that release is controlled by state law and court process and said attorneys, people directly involved in a case (or their lawyers), and families in certain circumstances may obtain or view footage through the legal process. He also described technical features—wireless downloads from patrol cars during shifts and docking stations at the station for long events—and said supervisors will conduct quarterly reviews of substantive calls.

Ending: Staff will continue to refine the written policy and proceed with officer training; the department said cameras are on hand and may be deployed after policy review and training are complete.