HOUSTON — Since late last year, the Houston Police Department has been using a new feature that ensures officers' body cameras record all interactions, even if an officer forgets or can't turn on their bodycam.
HPD is still trying to work with the state law that forbids 24/7 recording of police bodycams.
Until a firm policy is in place, Chief Troy Finner is the only person who's authorized to get the recorded footage from the new feature, which is called "after-the-fact."
"When we have some technology, we can sit down and craft a policy that's going to cover everybody and get that footage, so we can continue to build trust," Finner said.
It's currently a violation of department policy for officers not to record their interactions, but Finner said he wants officers to be safe above everything else.
The police officer's union and the chief are working together to address privacy concerns that officers have.
HPD officers have been wearing bodycams since 2015.