Council bill would require outside cameras on some businesses

THE DEATH OF Philadelphia college student Shane Montgomery, who went missing after a night of drinking in November and whose body was pulled from the frigid Schuylkill more than a month later, has spurred introduction of legislation that would require bars and restaurants to install outside surveillance cameras.

City Council's Committee on Public Safety yesterday began taking testimony on the feasibility of such a law, but does not expect to take action until the fall so that all stakeholders can weigh in, said Councilman Curtis Jones Jr., who sponsored the bill.

Already in support of the camera requirement is Karen Montgomery, Shane's mother.

"I have no delusions that any camera would have saved my Shane. However, I am convinced without a doubt that had video shown his direction upon leaving his last stop, the suffering endured during searches without direction would have been lessened," Montgomery testified.

Shane, 21, of Roxborough, was a senior at West Chester University. On the night before Thanksgiving, he and friends went bar-hopping on Main Street in Manayunk, where he was last seen leaving Kildare's Irish Pub in the early morning of the holiday.

Shane's family and friends posted fliers across the city and became fixtures in news reports seeking help in finding him.

Philadelphia police and the FBI searched for him, as did a volunteer New Jersey dive team that eventually found Shane's body Jan. 3, 10 feet from the shore and a half-mile from Kildare's. Video from a Main Street nail salon last recorded Shane walking on a footbridge behind the street. It is believed that he accidentally fell to his death.

"We believe there are an alarming too few cameras on Main Street and other commercial corridors in the city of Philadelphia," said Jones, whose 4th District includes Manayunk and Roxborough.

Philadelphia Director of Public Safety Michael Resnick said Mayor Nutter's administration supports the bill because cameras have been proven to deter crimes and help police to solve them.

But Sande Friedman, of the Philadelphia chapter of the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association, spoke against the bill, arguing that installing cameras should be a business decision and not a government mandate that would be too costly for many small businesses.

"This legislation targets the hospitality industry - restaurants specifically, and establishments serving alcohol - to implement yet another fiscally burdensome mandate at a time where taxes are already rising a lot for small businesses and other government mandates are going into effect," she said.

Since 2013, the city has reimbursed businesses half the cost of installing cameras, up to $3,000, said Karen Fegely, deputy commerce director.