In 2014, there were 229 car accidents involving Nashville Metro Police officers; of those 229, 85 of them were caused by an officer. Given that there were 117,285 crashes in Tennessee last year (14,871 in Davidson County alone), maybe 229 seems like a small number. What isn’t a small number is 500,000 – the amount of dollars this is cost Tennessee taxpayers because of lawsuits leveraged against the Metro Police.
But what if our costs could have been lower? What if there could have been better and stronger information that could protect an officer or a civilian in a crash? If the Metro Police cruisers all had dashboard cameras – dash cams, for short – things might have been very different. That is why we need to make a case for installing dash cams in every police cruiser serving Nashville and surrounding areas, like Knoxville and Gallatin, and for keeping the footage those cameras record.
Dash cams by the numbers
Right now, the Metro Police have 600 cruisers for 1,400 officers who drive approximately 15 million miles a year between them. Only 18 of them are equipped with dash cams. According to Council member Jason Holleman, it would cost roughly $3 million to install the dash cams in the remaining 582 cruisers (about $5,000 per car). The Councilman did say, however, that the Metro Police department has set aside money for DNA testing instead.
The importance of keeping the footage
One of the more problematic issues surrounding dash cams is the footage; namely, that unless an arrest is made or it is a DUI stop, Tennessee does not require the police departments to keep any footage the cameras record – including footage of accidents involving police cruisers. The Councilman claims that there would be additional costs for storing that footage.
But those costs could be small compared to benefits of maintaining the videos. They could provide incontrovertible proof of an accident as well as the severity of that crash. They could be used to help injured officers and civilians obtain the compensation they need in order to help them recover from injuries. The Metro Police department uses the videos to help its officers correct mistakes and learn better ways of handling an accident or a crime; if a large number of videos show wrongdoing by the officers, they could help institute new rules and training. If they show that certain areas of town see more accidents or more crime, they could help the police better protect citizens and help townships build safer communities. As we point out, “having the video is a lot better than not having it” when it comes to putting in an insurance claim.
If we cannot have more dash cams, then we must insist that the videos recorded by the cameras we do have remains intact and available for use by people injured in accidents. It can only help keep all of us safer, regardless of which car we are in.
If you were involved in a car crash with a police cruiser, please contact Rocky McElhaney Law Firm in Gallatin, Nashville or Knoxville to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney.
