As part of the rollout of a new camera registry program Tuesday, the Cobb Police Department released new footage of them capturing the suspect accused of shooting five people in Midtown Atlanta.
Police cited the events of May 3 to illustrate the need for the program. They said the cooperation between residents and police, using public and private video footage, was key to apprehending the suspect, Deion Patterson, in Cumberland.
According to Chief Stuart VanHoozer, Patterson was identified and tracked by Cobb law enforcement due to the integration and registration of cameras. The capture of Patterson without incident was made possible by tracking his vehicle.
The new program, Connect Cobb, is intended to allow officers to access cameras at residences and businesses. The partnership is voluntary for those who own private video systems. To register your home camera, visit connectcobbcounty.org/camera-registration.
Community members will decide for themselves if they want to participate in the program. The police department’s use of a “digital canvas” to apprehend suspects is the “future of policing,” officials said.
Asked what he thought of the body cam footage, VanHoozer said he was grateful that it was “boring.”
“I loved it,” he said.
How it works
If a Cobb resident decides to register their private security cameras with the Cobb County Police Department, law enforcement will not have automatic access to their video footage, officials said. Instead, when you register your camera, investigators will know a camera is located on your property and will be able to request video evidence from you.
There is no additional cost involved with sharing your camera location, police said. Additionally, Cobb police will not share your information, and will only contact you if a crime occurs in your neighborhood.
Residents and business owners can go further by opting to integrate their security cameras. For cameras that are integrated, police can directly access the live video feed, instead of requesting footage after the fact.
The department requests access to exterior, public-facing cameras. The goal of sharing your camera feed with the police is to improve response times and keep the community safe, police said.
“Precision policing, which is what we are terming this, is extremely important for us,” VanHoozer said. “We want a very, very detailed description of who committed the crime, so that we can stop the right person, not the wrong person.”
Concerns of overreach
Police emphasized the voluntary nature of Connect Cobb. But Carlos Rodriguez, a criminal defense attorney who serves as chair of the Cobb County Board of Ethics, is skeptical about the program’s unintended consequences.
According to Rodriguez, if a homeowner denies law enforcement’s access to their security camera footage, law enforcement may go to a magistrate to request a search warrant.
There have been cases in metro Atlanta in which a homeowner’s denial of access to their security camera footage has served as reasonable suspicion to search, according to Rodriguez.
Although Rodriguez thinks the Cobb Connect program is well-intentioned, the attorney believes there is potential for abuse, and encouraged Cobb residents to consider that potential.