U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced it expects to equip every field officer with body cameras by the end of August. This move could provide an unprecedented visual record of the federal government’s immigration enforcement operations.

Body Camera Policy

ICE defended its body-worn camera policy amid questions about provisions allowing ICE leadership to withhold or indefinitely delay footage after serious injuries or deaths in custody. Acting Director David J. Venturella stated the restrictions are intended to protect investigations and privacy, consistent with federal law and policies at other federal law enforcement agencies.

Venturella’s statement came in response to an Associated Press report on ICE policy, including a provision calling for the expedited release of footage after a serious injury or death in custody when doing so is determined to be in the “best interests of the agency.” Venturella said the AP “mischaracterized” the policy by conflating that provision with ICE’s broader authority to release body-camera footage.

ICE has been under heightened scrutiny since the fatal shooting in July of a 25-year-old motorist in Maine by an ICE officer with a history of violent behavior. Days earlier, another ICE officer shot and killed a Houston homebuilder driving to work. Neither shooting was recorded with body cameras.

Venturella said ICE was “committed to transparency and accountability” and was “on track to equip every officer and agent in the field with body-worn cameras by the end of August.” The agency’s sister agency, Customs and Border Protection, has not released footage of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January.

Original reporting: WPBF West Palm Beach — read the source article.