Florida Highway Patrol Is Finally Getting Body Cameras. Here’s Why That Matters in DUI Cases

For years, Florida Highway Patrol troopers have investigated DUI cases without one of the most important pieces of technology now commonly used by other law enforcement agencies: body-worn cameras.

That is finally changing.

According to reporting by the Miami Herald, the Florida Highway Patrol is moving forward with body-worn cameras for its troopers.

For DUI defense attorneys, this is a significant development.

FHP has long used in-car dash cameras, and those videos can provide important evidence. But anyone who has actually reviewed FHP DUI videos knows their limitations.

A camera mounted to a patrol car can only show what happens in front of the patrol car.

A DUI investigation rarely stays there.

The Problem With Dash Cameras in DUI Cases

Imagine a trooper stops a driver on I-95 in Palm Beach County.

The patrol car may stop 15, 20, or even 30 feet behind the driver's vehicle. The dash camera remains mounted inside the patrol car.

The trooper, however, walks forward.

The initial conversation takes place at the driver's window. The trooper may ask where the driver is coming from, whether the driver has been drinking, and request a driver's license, registration, and insurance.

What does the dash camera capture?

Sometimes very little.

You might see the back of the vehicle. You might see the trooper standing next to the driver's window. But the driver may be completely outside the camera's view.

Audio can also be difficult to hear or incomplete.

That becomes important when the police report later says the driver had difficulty producing a license, fumbled with documents, had bloodshot eyes, smelled of alcohol, appeared confused, or made a particular statement.

A body-worn camera potentially gives us another perspective on that encounter.

Roadside Sobriety Exercises Are Another Problem

Dash cameras can be particularly problematic when it comes to roadside sobriety exercises.

The trooper may position the driver in an area that is safer for conducting the exercises, but that location may be well away from the patrol vehicle's camera.

The driver can appear tiny on the video. The angle may be poor. Passing traffic may interfere with the audio.

Sometimes the trooper or another person blocks the camera.

Yet the written DUI report may contain very specific observations about the driver's performance.

The report might say the driver stepped off the line, raised his or her arms for balance, swayed, failed to follow instructions, or demonstrated other alleged indicators of impairment.

As a DUI defense attorney, I don't simply want to read those conclusions.

I want to see what happened.

Body Cameras Can Give Us a More Complete Picture

A body-worn camera moves with the trooper.

When the trooper approaches the driver's window, the camera goes with the trooper.

When the trooper speaks with the driver, the camera is closer to the conversation.

When the trooper conducts roadside exercises, the camera may provide a much closer perspective than a dash camera sitting dozens of feet away.

That can provide valuable context.

Was the driver actually having difficulty retrieving documents?

Did the driver understand the trooper's instructions?

Were the instructions given correctly?

Was the ground level?

Was traffic flying past the driver while the exercises were being performed?

Did the driver actually perform as poorly as the written report suggests?

Those are the types of questions video evidence can help answer.

How We Use Video Evidence to Attack a DUI Case

When we defend a DUI case, we don't treat the police report as the final word about what happened.

We compare it to the evidence.

That includes dash-camera video, body-camera video when available, breath or urine testing records, dispatch information, witness statements, photographs, and other discovery.

Video can be particularly useful because it allows us to compare an officer's written observations with what can actually be seen and heard.

If a report describes someone as extremely unsteady but the video shows the person walking normally, that matters.

If the report says a driver failed to follow instructions but the video shows confusing or incomplete instructions, that matters.

If an officer describes slurred speech, the recording may allow us to hear the driver's speech ourselves.

Video may also support the State's allegations. A body camera is not inherently defense evidence or prosecution evidence. Its value is that it provides another objective record that lawyers, prosecutors, judges, and ultimately jurors can examine.

Body Cameras Don't Make Dash Cameras Obsolete

Ideally, DUI investigations will have both.

A dash camera provides a wider, fixed perspective. It may capture the driving pattern before the stop, the location of the vehicles, and a broader view of roadside exercises.

A body camera provides a closer, moving perspective.

Together, they can tell a much more complete story than either camera alone.

That is especially important in DUI cases because seemingly small observations can become important evidence used to establish probable cause for an arrest.

Check out our video on Field Sobriety Exercises.

More Evidence Is Better Than Guesswork

Body cameras will not eliminate disputes between police officers and people accused of crimes.

They will not necessarily prove that a trooper was right or that a defendant was right.

But they can give everyone more information.

When someone's driver's license, criminal record, employment, and reputation may be affected by a DUI prosecution, the case should be decided on the best evidence available.

Adding body-worn cameras to FHP DUI investigations is an important step in that direction.

If you have been arrested for DUI by the Florida Highway Patrol in Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, or the surrounding area, obtaining and carefully reviewing all available video should be an important part of evaluating the case.

At the Law Office of Matthew Konecky, P.A., we review the evidence behind the police report, including available dash-camera and body-camera footage, to determine whether what was written about the arrest matches what actually happened.

Remember there is more to case than the alleged facts:  Lean More.