Baltimore Police To Start Wearing Body Cameras In May
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Baltimore will soon become the largest police force in America equipped with body cameras---but there are concerns about how they'll be used in police investigations.
Investigator Mike Hellgren has more with the camera rollout.
It will cost more than $11 million and it gained urgency after Freddie Gray's death. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake says she didn't rush it because she wanted the program done right...but the ACLU believes one part of it is wrong.
Baltimore City Police Commissioner Kevin Davis wore the new body camera on his chest. Two taps and it's on. It's the start of the largest such program in the country, put in place with urgency after the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody.
"We're looking forward to police departments across the country coming to us and asking how we pulled it off," Davis said.
Starting May 1, officers will be wearing the first of 2,500 cameras released in five stages across all precincts. It will cost taxpayers $11.6 million in a five-year contract with Taser International.
"This was far more complex than simply going down to Radio Shack and buying a bunch of cameras," Rawlings-Blake said.
The mayor insists the cameras will provide greater accountability but WJZ has learned that, despite the recommendation of her task force, officers under investigation will be allowed to review their footage before answering questions.
"That is a huge mistake and completely destroys the integrity of any investigation of an officer who views the footage," said David Rocah, ACLU.
The police union supports allowing officers to view footage first and in a statement to us says it supports the camera program.
The mayor believes body cameras will save the city money.
"One mistake can cost taxpayers millions of dollars," Rawlings-Blake said.
Under just four years of her administration, between 2011 and 2014, the city paid out $5.7 million in police misconduct settlements. Just this week, it formally approved a $6.4 million settlement with Freddie Gray's family.
"The longer we wait to implement body cameras, the more citizens will be at risk for serious bodily harm or death at the hands of rogue police officers," said Billy Murphy, the Gray family's attorney.
"The way police are investigated by police around the country is a problem and that's not an excuse for us doing it wrong in Baltimore where the stakes are so high," Rocah said.
Taser International agreed to store additional video from the inside of police transport vans for additional cost.