El Paso Police carry cameras for domestic violence cases

El Paso Police receive 3,000 domestic violence calls a month and about 600 result in arrests.

Prosecuting all those cases can be extremely difficult, but ABC-7 has learned the use of cameras to record victim statements has made it easier. And now other Texas cities are following El Paso’s example.

“The beautiful thing about having the video camera there is that we really capture the emotion, the fear, the anger and all those things you really can’t write in the report,” said EPPD Sgt. Tonya Shields. “You get to see all the bits of evidence, you get to see the furniture that’s tipped over, the items that are broken, there’s blood or a missing tooth, you get to see all of that and you can show that to the prosecutors, to the jury and it really makes an impact.”

Sheilds said the cameras have been game-changers. Since 2011, they’ve been recording victim’s statements and domestic violence crime scenes. She recalled a case last year where she spotted a clump of hair at the front door of a domestic violence scene.

“It was disturbing and if I was to put that in a report, ‘OK, I found a clump of hair by the front door that matches the victim,’ it wouldn’t have the same effect as, ‘OK, look at this!’ You can see the pain and emotion behind what happened.”

The $250 dollar cameras, which every squad car is now equipped with, were the idea of District Attorney Jaime Esparza’s office. They were purchased using a grant from the governor’s office.

“Because of the technology, they get to download the video after their shifts and we get to see it the next day,” Esparza said. “It’s really powerful evidence. The story is not diluted. We get it raw, we get it real and we get it right then and there. It helps us make a really good analysis of what happened and we like to think that the video, along with all the other evidence we collect, might get us to disposing the case short of trial.”

The cameras have proved so helpful, other police departments and district attorney’s offices are following suit around the state.

“We are leaders in fighting domestic violence as prosecutors and I can tell you as we pitched our program to other prosecutors across the state they are picking up the program,” Esparza said.

October is domestic violence awareness month and Vice President Joe Biden is recognizing the El Paso District Attorney’s Office for its 24-hour domestic violence contact initiative program.