Baltimore Police Body Camera Testing To Begin In October
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Balitmore Mayor Stephanie-Rawlings Blake announced Thursday that the police department will begin testing body cameras in October.
"I am pleased that we are moving forward with our plans to bring body-worn cameras to our officers, because I believe they will help to bring a greater level of accountability and trust to our efforts to improve police-community relations," Rawlings-Blake said. "I have made it clear that I want us to do this right, and this pilot program will ensure that we find the right solution for Baltimore."
Three vendors were selected by the city to participate in the pilot program that will begin Oct. 26 and end on Dec. 18.
Taser International, Inc., offering the Axon Body Camera and Amazon Web Services; Atlantic Tactical, Inc., offering the Vievu LE4 Camera and Microsoft Azure storage service; and Brekford Corporation, partnering with Panasonic using the Arbitrator Camera and Microsoft Azure storage service were selected out of the 10 bids received.
The program will consist of 155 officers among the Baltimore Police Department's nine districts across the city. The cameras will be used on every shift, collecting and uploading video to a hosted storage facility.
At the end of the pilot, one vendor will be selected to provide body cameras for all city police officers, who will required to wear them starting in early 2016.