As of December 21, 2023, Houston Police Department body camera footage can be retrieved – regardless of whether the camera was activated. Body cameras will be left on standby mode, recording incidents even if the officer fails to activate their camera.
2021 Policy Reforms
On January 20, 2021, the Houston Police Department issued General Order No. 400-28, entitled “Body Worn Cameras.” The order, which applied to all employees, stated the following policy considerations:
The Houston Police Department shall utilize body worn cameras to assist the department in efforts to enhance police professionalism, improve transparency, and preserve recordings of officers’ interactions with the public. Body worn cameras have the potential to improve community relations, strengthen public trust in law enforcement, reduce the number of complaints, resolve allegations of officer misconduct, increase department accountability, and improve officer training and evaluation.
The policy details when an officer must activate their body camera, and outlines the limited circumstances in which an officer can deactivate their camera. As of the 2021 policy, Standby Mode was defined as “[t]he mode in which the [body worn camera] is turned on but not actively recording an event.” The policy explains that when a camera in Standby Mode is activated, “up to two minutes of video prior to activation will be captured.”
Section Five of the policy explains that a situation in which an officer does not activate their camera will be “evaluated based on whether a reasonable officer under the same or similar circumstances would have made the same decision.” Potential justifications include situations in which it is “unsafe, unrealistic, or impractical” to activate the camera, for example, if the situation “require[s] officers to act immediately to ensure their safety or the safety of others.” However, if an officer’s failure to activate the camera was not justified, “the officer may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including indefinite suspension.”
The 2021 Order was the result of a recommendation by the Houston Mayor’s police reform task force as a result of civil rights protests in 2020. As a part of these policy changes, the Houston Police Department also announced that they would release body camera footage of police shootings or killings within 30 days.
January 2024 Announcement
In January 2024, the Houston Police Department announced that a new policy is in the works: all body cameras are required to stay on standby mode at all times as of December 21, 2023. This announcement came after public controversy surrounding an officer-involved shooting on December 17, 2023. An individual suspected of robbery was shot in the back after a pursuit. While the Houston Police Department released dashcam and body camera footage related to the incident, the body camera of the pursuing officer was not activated.
In a statement via X on January 16, 2024, the Houston Police Dpartment stated “Sometime next week, Police Chief Troy Finner expects to announce revisions to the current body worn camera policy. One of the revisions would allow the department to capture additional law enforcement activities, especially during critical incidents, even if a recording is not initiated.”
Senate Bill 158
The Houston Police Department’s policies mirror language in Texas SB 158, which was signed into law on June 19, 2015. The bill regulates body camera policies for Texas law enforcement officers. Section 1701.657 states:
(c)A peace officer who does not activate a body worn camera in response to a call for assistance must include in the officer’s incident report or otherwise note in the case file or record the reason for not activating the camera.
(d)Any justification for failing to activate the body worn camera because it is unsafe, unrealistic, or impracticable is based on whether a reasonable officer under the same or similar circumstances would have made the same decision.
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