“It’s a good thing in today’s climate,” Police Chief Matt Hamlin said. “Everybody wants transparency, accountability, and I think body cameras are going to provide that for the residents of Clayton.”
The cameras were approved in the 2021 budget for the city. Hamlin said the officers probably won’t have the cameras on them until late January. The next step for the department is training for officers and retrofitting officers’ vests to support the camera.
“Where the cameras go, they have to have a pocket installed on the outside tactical vest, and once that gets made and sent back to us, we’ll be able to start the camera usage,” he said.
The cameras will be visible to others. The pocket is to hold the camera in place and protect it from being broken.
Equipment covered by the contract includes the cameras, modems for the eight cruisers that store the footage, installation of the holsters, camera mounts for the outside of the officers’ vests, installation of software and training for the officers on the cameras and software.
The cameras are a first for the department, but it has used in-car cameras for the past 20 years. Officers will continue to use their in-car cameras.
“The in-car cameras only capture a certain portion of what you can see from inside the car. Once the officer comes outside of that camera range, which happens sometimes, you’ll be getting body camera footage, too,” he said.
The cameras would provide footage of not only the officer, but the people they come in contact with.
“We are pleased city council has decided to move forward with the purchase of body cameras. The use of the body worn cameras will not only provide additional transparency, but will also help evolve the general public’s perception of policing in our city,” said Clayton City Manager Amanda Zimmerlin in a statement.
The city of Clayton has been fortunate to receive few officer complaints, she said.
“Our officers are dedicated and strive to bring a high degree of service and professionalism to this community,” Zimmerlin said. “The use of the cameras will only continue to show the city of Clayton that we are here to serve them.”
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