New body-cam system coming to MFPD
BodyWorn police cameras integrate into officers' uniforms, keeping them from being knocked off, and with the in-car vehicle system. They are coming to the MFPD thanks to a citizen's donation.
By Glynis Crawford Smith
The Highlander
The Marble Falls Police Department (MFPD) will be moving to the cutting edge of technology in body cameras thanks to a donation from local citizen Robert Ruff.
At the meeting of the Marble Falls City Council Feb. 21, the formal approval of a $50,000 donation was passed with Mayor John Packer's thanks to Ruff. With the donation, budgeted money for the year and other funds designated for equipment, the MFPD should deploy the new $127,683 system before the year is out.
“We are no strangers to audio/video recording in Burnet County,” said Detective Sgt. Tom Dillard. “We have used in-car cameras since the mid-1990s.”
Anyone who has read crime novels or watched television drama has learned the real-life phenomenon of how eyewitness accounts can vary from one witness to another. While the headlines are full of citizens and watchdog groups clambering for technology for accountability, police and prosecutors have come to depend on it for evidence of criminal activity and even to protect officers against false accusations.
“Our experience with in-car video is that the recordings serve to validate the officer’s actions as proper far more often that they serve to implicate an officer in wrongdoing,” noted Dillard.
The new BodyWorn police cameras integrate into officers' uniforms, keeping them from being knocked off, and with the in-car vehicle system, triggering video by vehicle sensors such as the light bar, car door and shotgun rack. They have an “officer down” feature that calls in a prone officer.
Ruff's donation was especially welcome in a year when the $3.48 million Marble Falls Public Safety Facility at 606 Avenue N is under construction. Another item on the council agenda Feb. 21 was the approval of $154,174 for the emergency back-up generator the new MFPD home will require.
Police Chief Mark Whitacre said Ruff had contacted him last summer with an offer to supplement department needs. It was not the first time Ruff has shared with the community. The anonymity of his donation to the city's dog park was pretty much compromised when the council elected in 2015 to follow the Parks & Recreation Commission recommendation to name it Ruff Park.
Last year he pledged a dollar-for-dollar match for the Phoenix Center fund drive.
"The Police Department is very appreciative of Mr. Ruff's generous donation,” said MFPD Chief Mark Whitacre. “Without it, we would not have been able to complete our mobile video and body camera project this year."
