Elk Grove Village Police Department - 2024 ILETSB BWC Report

Overview of Elk Grove Village Police
The Elk Grove Village Police Department fully rolled out the Axon Body Worn 3 Cameras (BWC) with officers receiving training that started in January 2023.   Axon Fleet (squad) cameras were installed in June 2023.  At the end of 2024, the Elk Grove Village Police Department consisted of 1 Chief of Police and 86 sworn police officers (2 Deputy Chiefs, 4 Commanders, 13 Sergeants, 52 Patrol Officers, 7 Investigators, 3 Traffic Officers, 1 Identification Officer, 1 Crime Prevention Officer, and 3 School Resource Officers) and 4 civilian Public Service Officers.  
Body Worn Camera Overview
The Elk Grove Village Police Department received an upgrade for the body worn cameras and on 11/4/2024; we issued the Axon BWC 4 to all sworn officers and public service officers.  All new Body camera users are trained for 2 hours by the body camera administrator prior to being issued the camera.
Technical Issues

Body Worn Camera 3 X60A7346L was returned to Axon when the buttons stopped working twice.  The BWC 3 camera was replaced and used as a spare prior to receiving the new BWC 4

Review Process

1.	Supervisor review of all officer-involved shootings and officer-involved incidents that result in death and/or great bodily harm:

a.	The supervisor responsible for the investigation but not directly involved in the actual incident shall take physical custody of the BWC that may have captured the incident.

b.	Supervisors may review footage due to ongoing exigency that may aid the present investigation.

c.	The supervisor shall, as soon as practicable, upload the recording(s) and make a notification to the BWC Administrator to ensure the recording(s) are numbered and categorized appropriately.

d.	Supervisors shall verify the files are uploaded properly before returning the BWC to the officer.

2.	Supervisors shall ensure officers equipped with BWC utilize them in accordance to policy and training.

3.	When a supervisor becomes aware that a recorded incident pertains to a critical incident, as outlined in Section G (When to Records with the BWC), the supervisor shall review only those recordings necessary and relevant to their investigative scope. The supervisor is responsible for forwarding the information via the chain of command.

4.	Not less than once every 90 days, commanders and sergeants shall ensure at least three (3) samplings of BWC recordings pertaining to staff under their command are reviewed. The purpose of this review is to ensure that equipment is operating properly and that officers are using the cameras appropriately and in accordance with this policy and training.

a.	The selection of recordings will be conducted in a manner that promotes an equitable review of recordings from all officers.
	
b.	Reviewing Supervisor shall list their name and date of the review in the comments. The Supervisor will also document the review in a BWC Review Log (Appendix A).

c.	The BWC Review Log will be provided to the BWC Administrator  quarterly.

d.	BWC videos will not serve as the sole and exclusive basis for the imposition of discipline. Supervisors shall periodically review recordings for the purpose of ensuring Departmental policy adherence. 

5.	Recordings may be reviewed to determine possible employee discipline when:

a.	A formal or informal complaint of misconduct has been made.

b.	The encounter on the recording could result in a formal investigation under the Uniform Peace Officer’s Act. The Uniform Peace Officer’s Disciplinary Act defines a formal investigation as the process of investigation ordered by a commanding officer during which the questioning of an officer is intended to gather evidence of misconduct which may be the basis for filing charges seeking his or her removal, discharge or suspension in excess of three days.

c.	A use of force incident has occurred.

d.	As corroboration or other evidence of misconduct.

6.	Recordings shall not be used to prepare performance evaluations, unless used for the purpose of correcting substandard employee performance that was brought to the supervisor’s attention or highlighting commendatory performance of an employee.

7.	When supervisors can articulate a reasonable concern regarding training, recordings made by probationary police officers are subject to review outside the scope of the monthly review of BWC footage. The purpose of this review is to identify areas where additional instruction is needed prior to the officer’s release from probationary status.

Additional Information

The Elk Grove Village Police Department utilizes a Body Worn Camera Administrator who consistently reviews the use of the cameras and the categorizing of evidence.  The Department also has Axon Fleet 3 cameras in all patrol cars.  We also upgraded and issued the Axon Taser 10 to all sworn officers, which also automatically starts the recording on the BWC when the Taser is taken off safe mode.