Officials say they’ve been invaluable.
Frederick, Md (KM) Officers with the Frederick Police Department have been using body worn cameras for a few years. It started out as a pilot program in 2016.
Tyler Hill, the Department’s body worn camera administrator, says these cameras have proven to be very valuable. “Not only accountability for police officers, but also prosecution. They aid in prosecutions immensely,” he says.
Chief Jason Lando agrees. He also says body worn cameras have often backed up a police officer’s account of what happened during incidents. :”The officers, not just for evidence that Tyler talked about, but we’ll get complaints. People will e-mail me complaining about an officer did this; an officer did that. We have our own internal affairs but sometimes we’ll do a preliminary look at the body cam to see if there is any factual basis. And you can see that what the officers did was very much the right thing, and in alignment with our policies and procedures,” he said.
The Department’s body worn camera program was discussed Wednesday night during the Chief’s Community Advisory Board meeting.
All police officers in Maryland will be required to wear body worn cameras by 2025.
By Kevin McManus