Denver police officers will soon be wearing body cameras as early as next year, according to the Chief of Police. Various studies and pilot programs have shown that complaints of excessive force against police officers have greatly decline when the body cameras was introduced.
According to the Denver Channel, Denver Police Chief Robert White said the at least 800 body cameras will be needed. The total cost of the units is estimated to reach $1.5 Million, though, some of the money will be funded by grants.
Police Chief White hopes that the body camera will increase police transparency to the public especially in situations where the use of excessive force by police officers is the issue.
City officials announced that body camera vendor Taser International gave at least 125 body cameras including their video data storage free of charge, to the City of Denver as part of a pilot program.
Body Camera Capability and Video
The body camera can work well in low light, while wearer is running or even in slow motion. The data storage can record 18 hours worth of video. The body camera has an angled view of almost 180 degrees. The Denver Police released a video to show the advantages of using the body camera.
Critics of the Body Camera Program
The data recordings from the body camera will not be made available to the public because of state laws that prohibit their release. Qusair Mohamedbhai, a lawyer disagrees with the current state laws. He said, "The footage of the video camera will be and should be public record."
He also said that the body cameras have their limitations. He adds, "Only law enforcement officers can stop the use of excessive force. Body cameras will simply capture the event. But unless there is serious training that's running concurrent with this body camera program, there won't be change."
