42 Cancún Police Officers Sanctioned for Misuse of Body Cameras

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Since the mandatory use of body cameras was introduced last year, 42 police officers in Cancún have been sanctioned for various violations, authorities announced Tuesday.

The most recent case involved the dismissal of an officer who deliberately disabled his body camera to commit acts of corruption, according to Pablo Gutiérrez Fernández, general secretary of the Cancún city council.

“The officer was removed from his position. I don’t want to go into more details because of the ongoing process, but it is very important that Cancún residents know that all operational officers of the Secretariat of Public Safety and Transit must wear the body camera at all times. It must be visible and never covered,” Gutiérrez said.

Gutiérrez urged the public to report any officer who tampers with the equipment — whether by turning it off, not wearing it, or deliberately covering it. He noted that a team of technical and legal personnel is ready to process complaints quickly.

“It is important to file a complaint with internal affairs or a municipal authority so that it can be followed up, investigated, and clarified. We have been working hard on this. There is a team from the Municipal Comptroller’s Office and the Internal Affairs Department handling these issues whenever a situation arises,” he explained.

Despite the accumulated sanctions, Gutiérrez stressed that these cases do not represent a widespread problem within the institution and defended the commitment of the majority of local police officers. He also highlighted the benefits of the technology for accountability.

“We cannot generalize. There are officers who are very professional, working 100% and committed to the city. Unfortunately, there will be one or two who make a mistake or commit a fault. When it is detected, we act and there are consequences. We are the only municipality that has made it mandatory for officers to wear these cameras, and they also help us a lot in clarifying actions that have been good performances,” he said.

When asked about the maximum penalties for violating these rules and cases that go beyond local administrative channels, Gutiérrez clarified that sanctions are not limited to dismissal. Cases involving serious crimes are referred to the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office.

“The maximum sanction an officer could face for this type of conduct, beyond removal from office, is that we file complaints with the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office. And not only for officers who act badly, but for any public official who is found to have acted outside the law,” he concluded.