PARK POLICE OFFICERS WERE FORBIDDEN FROM WEARING CAMERAS: U.S. Park Police officers were forbidden from wearing body cameras while on the job, according to an internal memo obtained by The Hill through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The March 2015 memo that U.S. Park Police Chief Robert MacLean wrote to the entire force expressly told officers not to use any audio or video recorders "while on duty." He cited the lack of a department-wide policy for body cameras as the reason why officers could not record their time on the job. "While we recognize the potentially positive benefits associated with body worn cameras, the Force does not currently have a program or policy in place. As such, and until such time that the force authorizes implementation, employees are not authorized to utilize such a device (whether Force or personally owned) to record video or audio while on duty," the memo read. The only exception to the rule, MacLean wrote, would be if a division commander authorized the wearing of a recording device for a "special investigation." The U.S. Park Police did not respond to a request for comment. The Park Police has been under scrutiny since a November police chase on the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Washington, D.C. The chase ended with officers firing nine shots into a Jeep Grand Cherokee, killing 25-year-old Bijan Ghaisar. Family members say Ghaisar was unarmed. Why it matters: Currently, the Interior Department, which oversees U.S. Park Police, still lacks an official policy on the use of body cameras by officers. A February investigation by the Interior Department's Office of the Inspector General (IG) found that the department only has a draft policy on body camera usage, and at this point, it is voluntary. Read more. MACRON EXPECTS U.S. TO RETURN TO PARIS AGREEMENT: French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday predicted that the United States will come back to the Paris climate change agreement. Speaking to a joint session of Congress, Macron said climate change is a long-term problem that won't go away, and that gives him confidence the United States will either stay in the agreement or come back if it does leave. "I'm sure, one day, the United States will come back and join the Paris agreement. And I'm sure we can work together to fulfill with you the ambitions of the global compact on the environment," Macron told the House and Senate, eliciting some cheers from within the House chamber. President Trump announced in June 2017 that he would pull the United States out of the pact, but it cannot take effect until 2020 at the earliest, and a future president could quickly rejoin. Macron spoke extensively about climate change and the environment in his speech. But he did not seek to consternate Trump or the United States and instead chose to highlight the urgency of the issue. Read more. FROM THE HILL'S OPINION SECTION: -Policy makers should rethink traditional assumptions of how gas prices impact households, says Jason Bordoff, founding director of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. ON TAP THURSDAY: Pruitt hearings: Pruitt will testify at two House hearings on the EPA's 2019 budget request: one in the Energy and Commerce Committee's environment subcommittee and one in the Appropriations Committee's Interior/EPA subcommittee. Offshore revenue sharing: The House Natural Resources Committee's subcommittee on energy and mineral resources will hold a hearing on revenue sharing for offshore oil and natural gas drilling. OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY: Wednesday marked four years since the event that started the Flint water crisis, and WJBK looks back on what's happened since. A new study found that thousands of tropical islands could become uninhabitable in the coming decades due to climate change, The Washington Post reports. North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein (D) is suing Duke Energy over its decision to charge ratepayers for the costs of cleaning up coal ash disposal facilities, the Associated Press reports. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Check out Wednesday's stories ... -Park Police officers were forbidden from wearing body cameras: memo -GOP lawmaker wants 'contrition' from Pruitt -Pruitt talking points show he plans to shift blame at hearings: report -White House: We expect Pruitt to provide answers on ethics controversies -Macron: The US will come back to the Paris climate pact -EPA security chief worked for tabloid owner linked to Trump: report |
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