Fairfax-based attorney Eric Clingan thought it was odd the Fairfax County Police officer who asked his client to perform a field sobriety test didn’t have his body microphone on. Nor did the test take place in view of his patrol car’s dashboard-mounted camera.
He contacted three attorneys handling similar cases with the police officer as the complainant, including Fairfax-based Justin Weiss, Faraji Rosenthall and a lawyer from Fairfax County’s Public Defender’s office. In each instance, the police officer’s body mic was off and the sobriety test was conducted off-camera.
“It became obvious to us that it certainly seemed like it had to be more than just a coincidence,” said Clingan. “Four separate nights, four different individual defendants.”
Clingan then looked up the Fairfax County Police Department General Order 430.8, which details the mobile in-vehicle video program.
The order requires microphones and cameras to be regularly checked for proper functioning, and to be turned on at all times while interacting with civilians. The cameras are capable of swiveling 360 degrees.
“Even if the officer has to take the individual to the side of his vehicle, nothing prevents him from going into the car and moving the camera to capture that performance on video,” Clingan said. “The Fairfax County Police Department has clearly given this officer the ability to record it.”
All four cases of Driving While Intoxicated came before Judge Ian M. O’Flaherty in Fairfax General District Court on Friday, May 8. And the judge dismissed each of them for due process violations.
“A case like this will hopefully send a message to the police department and to the community that we have the ability to record both audio and video interactions with the police, and that’s for everyone’s safety and everyone’s protection,” said Clingan. “It effectively eliminates misunderstandings, miscommunications and, frankly, misremembering of details over any kind of conduct or confrontation.”
“It emphasizes the importance of making sure this technology is used properly,” said Rosenthall. “There’s more to it than getting cameras; there has to be a change in thought process. In all cases, [recording] helps defense attorneys as often as it helps police officers, taking away from failings of human memory and eyesight.”