Anaheim Police Officers To Wear Body Cameras Starting Next Spring
ANAHEIM (CBSLA.com) — The Anaheim Police Department will now become one of a handful of forces across the country to add cameras to officers' uniforms.
The City Council Tuesday night voted unanimously in support of the $1.1 million investment, manning the department with 250 body cameras.
Police Chief Raul Quezada says he has been fighting to get the cameras to create transparency in the department since a deadly police shooting sparked riots in Anaheim two years ago.
"We immediately started to test video last year. We came up with this device finally. And here we are purchasing it," Quezada said.
Similar cameras are being used by a handful of police departments across the country.
Anaheim resident Steven Sweetley spoke at Tuesday night's meeting, telling council members the approval is long overdue.
"The city of 14,000 people in Missouri - Ferguson - they are already instituting cameras on police within one month if the slaying of Michael Brown. How many people have been slain in the city of Anaheim, and cameras are still not on cops?" he asked.
But Genevieve Huizar, whose son was killed in a police altercation in 2012, says it's too little, too late.
"There is not justice for all. There is not," she said.
KCAL9's Stacey Butler reports officers will begin training on how to use the devices in November. The department plans to begin using them on duty next spring.
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