Winston Smith's death revived scrutiny of federal body camera policies

The law enforcement shooting death of Winston Boogie Smith Jr. stirred activists already calling for broad police reforms earlier this year and sparked a fresh wave of protests near the Uptown Minneapolis site of his death.

But Smith's death differed from many recent high-profile fatal police encounters in Minnesota and nationwide in one major way: There is no known video from the shooting.

Smith was shot and killed by members of a federal U.S. Marshals Service task force who were not outfitted with body cameras. The shooting was not captured by squad-car dash cameras. Nor was it recorded by parking ramp surveillance. Unlike many major deadly police encounters, including the 2020 police killing of George Floyd, no bystanders caught the encounter with their cellphone cameras.

The federal task force's policy on body cameras came under scrutiny after Smith's killing. Days after the shooting, three Minnesota law enforcement agencies suspended their participation in the federal North Star Fugitive Task Force: the sheriff's offices for Anoka, Hennepin and Ramsey counties.

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said Monday that the Marshals Service reached out to his office last week to discuss a camera policy. If sheriff's office employees can wear bodycams, they will rejoin the task force, he said.

"We need transparency and the public is demanding it," he said. "But the devil is in the details. We want to make sure we have access and control of the data. Some federal agencies don't want to give up control. This will be a key discussion point."

A spokesperson for Hennepin said the office still is not participating in the task force. Anoka County did not respond to a request for comment.

While there is no video of the encounter or the shooting, Minneapolis police interviewed Smith's female companion on a body-worn camera after the incident. The video has not been made available to the public.

Neither of the two task force members involved in Smith's death will face criminal charges.

"The decision was not the right decision — I feel like they have a lack of evidence," said Capritieshay Rogers, who has a 7-year-old daughter, Jah'niyah Rogers, with Smith.

U.S. officials said that since February they've been phasing in a policy allowing local law enforcement agencies to wear operating body cameras during federal task force operations. But Fletcher said the policy did not shift until the day after Smith's June 3 death.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco directed federal law enforcement agency heads on June 7 to develop "individualized comprehensive policies" that require body cameras to be worn and activated during preplanned operations or while executing search or seizure warrants. The Justice Department said that each policy presumes that recordings of encounters resulting in serious injury or death be "released as soon as practical."

The department last month announced the start of its new body-worn camera program requiring federal law enforcement to use body cameras "during pre-planned law enforcement operations." The first phase of the program started in Phoenix and Detroit and the department said it planned a "phased implementation" of body cameras and would "rely upon Congress to secure the necessary funding to equip agents nationwide" with body cameras.

"Law enforcement is at its most effective when there is accountability and trust between law enforcement and the community," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. "That is why we have expanded our body worn camera program to our federal agents, to promote transparency and confidence, not only with the communities we serve and protect, but also among our state, local and Tribal law enforcement partners who work alongside our federal agents each day."

As calls for the use of body cameras for federal law enforcement agencies heightened this year, Minnesota is expanding the technology's use for its state police agencies.

The Legislature's public safety spending measure passed this year appropriated more than $600,000 over the next two years to outfit officers employed by the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension with body cameras. Officers working for the Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement division of the Department of Public Safety will also begin wearing body cameras, and lawmakers approved a $500,000 grant program to help local law enforcement agencies that have yet to acquire body cameras pay for them.

Fletcher said there is an expectation throughout the country that law enforcement agencies will have body camera footage of significant incidents. A law enforcement agency needs to be able to release footage in a timely manner, which should be 30 days, he said.

"Rarely do cases require more investigative time, and most cases are concluded within 10 days," he said.

Staff writers Paul Walsh and Alex Chhith contributed to this report.

Stephen Montemayor • 612-673-1755

Twitter: @smontemayor