IMMEDIATE ADOPTION
Number
211515
Version
ORIGINAL
Reference
Sponsor
ALD. RAINEY
Title
Resolution urging the Fire and Police Commission to require the Milwaukee Police Department to adopt holster-sensor technology.
Analysis
This resolution urges the Fire and Police Commission to require the Milwaukee Police Department to adopt holster-sensor technology that automatically detects “holster events” for lethal and non-lethal weapons.
Body
Whereas, As part of the Sterling Brown settlement case, Milwaukee Police Department officers are required to file use-of-force reports whenever they have drawn or displayed their firearms to arrest or seize persons; and
Whereas, Holster-sensor technology detects when a handgun or Taser is removed from or inserted into a holster, and in turn can activate body-worn cameras and notify other police officers of a potential use-of-force situation in real time; and
Whereas, This technology continuously analyzes the presence of firearms and detects “holster events,” such as the removal or insertion of firearms into their holsters, and communicates this information in real time to smartphones, land mobile radios, and Bluetooth devices; and
Whereas, By automatically activating body-worn cameras and notifying other officers once a weapon is removed from its holster, this technology helps in high-stress situations in which police officers may not have the presence of mind or time to manually activate their body cameras or call for back-up; and
Whereas, Some American police departments, such as the department in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, have recently started using this technology to increase documentation of incidents and to build and maintain the public’s trust in the police; and
Whereas, The cost of acquiring holster-sensor technology would be roughly $100 for each piece of hardware and $10 per month for data services; and
Whereas, The City of South Bend, Indiana purchases body cameras from BodyWorn, which also provides holster sensors to the city free of charge; and
Whereas, Implementing this technology would increase the transparency of the Milwaukee Police Department by documenting all situations in which officers remove weapons from holsters; and
Whereas, Transmission of real-time alerts to fellow police officers regarding the removal of firearms from holsters and potential use-of-force incidents would boost officer safety by increasing the chances of back-up arriving quickly; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, By the Common Council of the City of Milwaukee, that the Fire and Police Commission is urged to require the Milwaukee Police Department to adopt holster-sensor technology that automatically detects “holster events” for lethal and non-lethal weapons; and, be it
Further Resolved, That this requirement should include the Milwaukee Police Department reporting the results of the deployment of this technology to the Fire and Police Commission every 6 months.
Requestor
Drafter
LRB177189-1
Alex Highley
1/12/2022