Fort Worth to outfit more cops with body cameras

FORT WORTH, Texas The Fort Worth Police Department plans to put more cameras on the streets by putting them on officers, CBS Dallas station KTVT-TV reports.

Three months ago, a Fort Worth police officer shot and killed an elderly man while responding to a burglary call at the wrong address. On Wednesday, police chief Jeffrey Halstead announced the cameras as part of new measures to help restore the community's trust in the department.

After a year's trial with 50 so-called "body cameras," the police department plans to order 145 more. The cameras are about the size of a tube of lipstick.

"These cameras are the future of policing," Cpl. Tracey Knight told reporters.

In New York City, a judge who found its police department's so-called "stop and frisk" program unconstitutional ordered the department to have some of its officers wear similar cameras in a pilot program.

The cameras can be attached to an officer's collar or sunglasses.

They're designed to be the eyes and ears when serving warrants or during traffic stops, when officers may be out of view of a squad car dashboard camera, like in a recent encounter just south of Fort Worth, in Cleburne, Texas, where an officer used a Taser on a motorist.

Recorded incidents are downloaded and can be reviewed by officers, supervisors or district attorneys but can't be doctored, according to Sgt. Scott Sikes.

"From the time the recording is captured to the time that it shows up in trial, we can say that recording's never been altered, it's never been edited," Sikes said.

"These cameras allow us an accurate and irrefutable account of police encounters," Knight said.

Fort Worth plans to order an additional 500 within a few years.

Just north of Fort Worth, in Richland Hills, Texas, the city started experimenting with officer body cameras in April, and the city is so impressed with how they work that it now wants one for every patrol officer.

"The body-worn cameras have been a great success," said Richland Hills Administrative Sgt. Nathan Stringer. "It protects the officers; it protects the public. There's no losing side with the body-worn cameras."

But the cameras record only the officer's perspective. While the Fort Worth Police Officers Association supports their voluntary use among officers, its president, Sgt. Steve Hall, said they are no replacement for a thorough investigation.

"Just like instant replay in the NFL," said Hall, "sometimes you may see something on camera and it still doesn't capture the full picture."

The police department hopes that eventually 65 percent to 75 percent of its patrol officers will use the cameras.