Ansonia Aldermen on Tuesday unanimously approved a request from the police commission to buy 25 body cameras for use by the department’s patrol officers.
The police commission Aug. 17 voted unanimously to endorse a request from Police Chief Kevin Hale to buy 25 cameras from TASER Corporation, known for its electronic defense weapons.
Hale said after Tuesday’s meeting he expects the department’s patrol officers to be outfitted with the cameras by the end of the year.
Mayor David Cassetti said the move will help cops document evidence and also improve accountability in resolving disputes between officers and citizens.
“It won’t be ‘he said, she said,’ and that’s a good thing in this day and age,” the mayor said.
Hale told police commissioners a committee of police officers — Lt. Andrew Cota, Sgt. Edward Henry, Sgt. Alex Barreira, and Officer Kevin Coonan — have been researching the issue for months.
The department will sign a five-year contract for 25 cameras, according to the terms of the agreement the Aldermen endorsed Tuesday.
The contract will cost the department $37,655 in its first year, but that cost will be defrayed by a $30,000 grant the department received from the state’s Justice Assistance Grants program.
After the first year of the contract, the police department will then pay $29,700 out of its budget for the duration of the contract.
In return, they’ll get 25 new cameras after 30 months and another 25 new cameras when the contract runs out.
TASER is also throwing in 25 of its electronic defense weapons with new holsters and batteries, Hale said. The department currently has 19.
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The devices — Axon Body cameras (pictured) — would clip on to the front of an officer’s uniform.
The cameras are valued at $399. At that price, 25 would cost about $10,000. But Cota said Sept. 1 the contract provides for things like storage of the videos recorded by the devices, charging stations, warranties, and upgrades.
The department plans for every patrol officer in the city to be outfitted with a camera.
But exactly how they’ll be used by cops in Ansonia is still being hammered out — for example, will they be recording at all times, or just when officers are responding to a call?
Hale said he plans to present a policy guiding their use to the police commission. The department is reviewing policies developed by other law enforcement agencies, the camera manufacturer, and state guidelines.
Click the play button on the video above to see Hale discuss the cameras with the police commission Aug. 17.
Ansonia pursued a grant for the cameras, the chief said, because he believes departments will have to equip officers with them eventually.
Civil liberties advocates have long pushed for more scrutiny of cops on the job, but the movement picked up momentum nationwide last year after high-profile cases in Missouri and New York City.
Last year President Obama identified police body cameras as one way to strengthen the relationship between police departments and the communities they serve.
In May the federal Justice Department announced $20 million in grants for local police departments to buy body cameras. A DOJ fact sheet on body cameras is posted below.
“It’s coming,” Hale said. “I believe it’s going to be mandatory, it’s going to be a law before law before too long, it’s going to be required both here and across the country.”
Article continues after video of Coonan, Cota, and Hale answering questions from the commission.
Hale said the cameras will add an effective tool to help cops and citizens, but “this is not the solution to all of law enforcement’s issues or problems.”
“The camera’s a camera,” the chief said. “The camera may not catch everything that (an officer) perceives, but it is going to help. It’s going to help in terms of evidence with court cases, in terms of behavior of suspects, it should actually help police officers in situations where you have false allegations.”
“Across the country you’ll see where police officers are getting themselves in trouble with these,” the chief went on. “The idea is to keep everybody honest. Transparency.”
