NYC Homeless Shelter Police Get Body Cameras and Tasers
New York City NY January 16 2019
In order to address safety concerns, peace officers who work at the city’s homeless shelters will be equipped with body cameras, an addition that the leader of Teamsters Local 237 praised.
“We’ll get a true picture of what’s really going on inside these shelters,” said Greg Floyd, president of the union that represents the officers.
Last year, the Department of Homeless Services launched a pilot program in which 40 peace officers wore the body cameras. Now the agency will provide the cameras to about 900 security staff.
“We’re equipping our DHS peace officers with the same body-worn camera technology that NYPD officers use to provide greater transparency, safety and accountability for officers and New Yorkers experiencing homelessness,” said Department of Social Services spokeswoman Arianna Fishman.
Violence has plagued city shelters, with 678 arrests occurring between July and September 2018, according to Police Department data. Mr. Floyd called the cameras a “major step in the right direction.”
“We needed the body cameras because the officers need to be protected from the [false] allegations. If something occurs, everyone needs to know what happened from the beginning,” he said.
Last month, DHS peace officer Tiffany Randolph was bitten on the hand by 19-year-old Olivia Morphis when several officers tried to arrest her after she was asked to remove her jacket and became belligerent, according to video footage of the Dec. 21 incident. Ms. Randolph reportedly swung handcuffs at the unruly woman in order to break free from her grasp, which resulted in DHS suspending her for 30 days without pay.
Mr. Floyd lamented that Ms. Morphis was given a summons for disorderly conduct instead of being charged with felony assault. He also blasted Ms. Randolph’s harsh punishment as an “overreaction” in light of the scrutiny the Human Resources Administration faced for the Dec. 7 incident involving Police Officers and peace officers ripping a Brooklyn mother’s 18-month-old son out of her arms at a benefits office, which was recorded on cellphone video and went viral.
The agency has also come under criticism for changing the way it recorded the number of critical incidents that occurred at city shelters. News reports revealed that in 2016, DHS had quietly begun recording only assaults that resulted in a visible injury or involved a weapon as critical incidents.
The de Blasio administration said that it has doubled funding for shelter security to $200 million since the Mayor’s first term. An NYPD management team began partnering with DHS to oversee security in 2017.
In addition to the body cameras, DHS announced that incoming peace officers will receive training to use Tasers. Prior to the NYPD partnership, only supervisors were taught how to use the tools: the rest of the security staff were permitted to carry batons and handcuffs. About 800 officers have been trained so far, but they must take an additional course in order to carry a Taser, according to the agency.
Mr. Floyd said he hoped to see another change alongside the cameras that would not only help secure the unarmed officers but also protect them from inclement weather: booths for security staff assigned to patrol outside the shelters.
thechiefleader.com