Page 7 - AT

A7
U.S. NEWS Monday 28 october 2019

FBI will seek 'way forward' on body cams for task forces

By MICHAEL BALSAMO ships with police depart- which morphed into spe- cannot be distracted by The bureau has faced criti-
CHICAGO (AP) — FBI Di- ments and their officers cial counsel Robert Muel- the opinions of "armchair cism in recent years for not
rector Christopher Wray who work with agents at ler's investigation into Rus- critics" and said instead acting quickly or strongly
vowed Saturday to "find a FBI field offices across the sian interference in the that the "opinions that truly enough on tips that were
way forward" to allow po- country to investigate vio- 2016 election. matter come from people received before mass
lice officers who serve on lent crime, gangs, drug Trump, who is scheduled to who know us, who work shootings and other inci-
federal task forces to wear smuggling and terrorism. speak at the conference with us, who depend on dents.
body cameras, affirming "We want to make sure Monday, has long claimed us." More than a month before
that the government will try that we find some middle there was political bias at The FBI director also ad- a gunman killed 17 people
to reverse a policy that has ground that we're all com- the FBI and that the probe dressed a new pilot pro- at a high school in Parkland,
strained its relationship with fortable with," Wray said, was part of a "witch hunt" gram aimed at ensuring Florida, the FBI received
some law enforcement warning there were com- to discredit him and his law enforcement can get a tip warning that the sus-
agencies. plicated considerations presidency. fast information about pect, Nikolas Cruz, wanted
Speaking to a packed at stake. "The good news Wray warned that FBI threats that are called in to to kill people and was plan-
room of police executives is we're talking about it. agents and police officers the FBI's tip line. ning a school shooting. q

In this July 23, 2019 file photo, FBI Director Christopher Wray tes-
tifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in
Washington.
Associated Press

at the International Asso- We're getting it all out on
ciation of Chiefs of Police the table, and I'm actually
conference in Chicago, confident we are going to
Wray cautioned that the find a way forward here."
policy would have to strike In a speech and brief panel
a balance to ensure that discussion that lasted about
the recordings do not com- an hour, Wray steered clear
promise any sensitive inves- of any mention of the Jus-
tigations or reveal the iden- tice Department's criminal
tities of informants. investigation into the origins
The announcement comes of the Russia probe that
months after Atlanta's po- shadowed Donald Trump's
lice chief withdrew city presidency for nearly two
police officers from federal years.
task forces over the issue. Attorney General William
The Justice Department's Barr appointed a U.S. at-
current rules do not allow torney, John Durham, to
federal agents to wear examine what led the FBI
cameras and prohibit local to open a counterintel-
officers from wearing them ligence investigation into
during joint operations. the Trump campaign and
Wray said the FBI needs to the roles that various coun-
maintain strong relation- tries played in the probe,