Above: Video of Wilmington Police Department officers. (Contributed by Jameson Faunce)
WILMINGTON — Over the last week, a video of Wilmington Police Department officers turning off their body cameras has received over 6,000 views; the department says the video shows officers leaving the scene of a downtown Wilmington protest en route back to headquarters, and is not a policy violation.
The video was taken at the corner of Chestnut and 2nd streets around 9:08 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, following the sixth day of George Floyd protests in downtown Wilmington.
Police presence has been elevated since the second day of protests, on Sunday, May 31, turned chaotic as evening fell; Sheriff’s deputies from New Hanover and Brunswick counties opened fire with rubber bullets and tear gas, claiming both that four armed men were spotted in the crowd and that protestors instigated the situation by throwing bottles, rocks, and other objects — a charge many protestors deny.
Jameson Faunce, who took the video, can be heard speaking during the first 30 seconds of the video. At roughly the 40-second mark, an officer can be heard saying loudly, “terminate body cameras.”
According to WPD, these officers were leaving the city hall area where protests had been held and returning to the office (according to Port City Daily reporters and those on the scene, the protest ended promptly at 9 p.m. when the city’s curfew, initiated earlier in the week, took effect).
Faunce questioned WPD’s response, noting that the officers and many of their vehicles had been staged further east on Chesnut Street (i.e. closer to City Hall) and that the officers were walking west, towards Princess and 2nd streets.
Body camera laws
While WPD has increased the number of officers who wear body cameras over the last six years, they are not actually required to do so by law. State law does require law enforcement agencies to have policies in place for officers who do wear cameras.
A 2016 law made it much more difficult for the public to get access to body and vehicle dash camera footage; the law exempted this footage from the category of ‘public record,’ and its release is only permitted now under the order of a Superior Court judge. Filing requires a $200 fee and plaintiffs must argue in court against legal counsel for the agency or agencies involved.
A 2018 bill, refiled in 2019, attempted to overturn this law and require all officers statewide to wear bodycams but stalled in committee.
