Columbus, Georgia

Columbus Consolidated Government

Referrals From Mayor and Council-01/11/2005





Subject Video Equipment



Description 1. As it relates to the equipment, the video tape of the Kenneth

Walker shooting and the question of there being no sound, have the staff to

provide an explanation as to what is happening with the technology or the

purchasing of equipment that has proven to have failed and why has this not

been brought to the attention of this Council. (Request of Councilor Suber)



2. Also, have the staff to look into and determine whether or not there may be

the ability to resurrect the sound on the tape of this incident. And if we are

capable of doing that, we ought to do that, or if, not; then certainly look

into the type of equipment that is being purchased. (Request of Mayor

Poydasheff)



Received From



Assigned To Angela Cole, Andrea McCorvey



Please enter a date mm/dd/yy before any comments are added.

Response Purchasing has not received a formal complaint from any department

regarding the video cameras. After talking with the Manufacturer, the

microphones are considered expendable (high usage) items due to the wear and

tear they incur from where the officer has them positioned on their uniform.

Agencies often replace the microphones on a routine basis. We contacted the

Public Safety Departments with a questionnaire and listed below are their

responses:.







Listed below are their responses:



Response to Referral # 1:

Police Department: The Prosecutor of Texas Video Camera System have had some

minor problems with the Transmitter Microphones. There are two small wires

attached to the Speaker of the Microphone that sometime pull loose and make it

impossible to transmit sound to the Recorder. There have been a few isolated

incidents where the Video Control Head and the Recorder malfunctioned. All

problems with the Video Systems are reported to First Communications located at

6171 Gateway Rd. Columbus, Ga.. I have had to replace several Microphones over

the past few years. The replacement cost for the Microphones is $ 19.64 each.

On average I replace about Five Microphones a month. Three Transmitter Chargers

were purchased for $81.82 each. Ted Alberta is employed by First Communications

any problems involving the Video Camera is directed to Ted Alberta, First

Communication and the Technicians employed at First Communications. The Video

Camera System is shipped to Prosecutor of Texas if it cannot be repaired by

First Communications. All Cameras under Warranty in need of repairs is shipped

to Prosecutor of Texas by First Communications. Ted Alberta, First

Communications, and Prosecutor of Texas all have been responsive to my needs.



Marshal's Office: We have not had any problems with our camera equipment.



Sheriff's Office: The problem is with the mic cord. Apparently the wires are

very thin and after repeated twisting they fray internally causing a short and

loss of audio. We, at one point, contacted the supplier and they suggested a

newer cord that should be stronger. We purchased those and have had better

success. Other than that issue, we have had no problems with the camera system.

It would be nice to find a system where the mic is automatically activated when

the blue lights are turned on.



One concern that we do have is the lack of a service agreement with First

Communication for removing and reinstalling equipment from one car to another.

This happened this year and they are expensive when providing this service.



Let me know if I can be of further help. I'll check with the CPD, I find it

hard to believe they aren't experiencing the same problem with the mic cord.



Response to Referral #2:

Steve Miller, Prosecutor of Texas, L.L.C. advised that If the sound/audio was

not initially recorded on the video, unfortunately, there is no way of

"resurrecting" the audio afterwards.