Methuen Police Say New Body Cameras 'About Being Transparent'
METHUEN (CBS) – A month and a half ago, Methuen police rolled out a new tool to fight crime - body cameras.
They outfitted 47 officers with the cameras and have recorded over 7,000 incidents.
This morning, one of their officers rolled on a routine traffic stop that almost escalated into something more serious.
An irate driver threw his citation to the ground then got out of the car with the officer shouting at him to return to his vehicle. That entire incident was captured on camera and ended without incident.
In the current atmosphere of police-civilian confrontations, Methuen Police Detective Sgt. Thomas McMenamon talked about the importance of body cameras.
"It's about being transparent with the public" McMenamon said.
He also pointed out that the cellphone videos we are seeing from civilians are just "snippets" of the incidents while police body cameras roll on "the entire incident from beginning to end."
Methuen Police save videos that are either needed for evidence or in a criminal case. They also hang onto traffic stops for up to 180 days in case a driver wants to appeal a ticket.