N.W.T. bylaw officer starts wearing lapel camera
John Louison of Fort Good Hope says he wants to document dangerous situations
A bylaw officer in Fort Good Hope says he'll be wearing a thumb-sized camera on his jacket whenever he goes to work.
After work, he stores the footage, and will only produce it if there's a complaint or questions.
"I record everything," he says. "It's sound and motion activated, so whenever I'm on duty, it's on."
Louison recently used his iPad to record a violent police arrest in Yellowknife last month. That video has led to an RCMP investigation.
Louison says he wants to be transparent with the public and document the risks officers face.
"In case something goes wrong with an individual, or a matter, and the public is wondering why things go the way they did," he says. "They can be made aware through that.
"I hope it catches on so that the public will know that there are a lot of violent calls. There is no typical call that an officer goes to. Every one of them is different. An officer has to adapt very fast. The job is difficult."
So far, says Louison, no one has objected to the camera, which was on when he recently led RCMP to the home of a bootlegger.
Police services in a handful of cities across Canada are experimenting with body cameras in a series of pilot projects.
"I look at it from the perspective of law enforcement," says John Rossam, an Edmonton-based lawyer. "It's a very valuable tool... and one that, I think, is for the benefit of both the police officer and the individual because it provides objective evidence."
Louison says he wants RCMP officers in the Northwest Territories to start wearing body cameras, as well. Yellowknife police and bylaw services have said they have no immediate plans to put cameras on officers.