The Oakwood Police Department plans to buy body cameras for its officers and cruiser cams for its vehicles.
Field Training Officer Glen Evans says he knows a body camera could protect him while he’s protecting the public.
“I’ve thought about buying one on my own,” Evans says, “because I know how I engage with people out here and I’m not worried about that, but the benefit to law enforcement is that it has cleared up false allegations.”
Now, Oakwood’s Public Safety Department plans to spend $120,000 to purchase 30 cameras and digital storage for what they record.
The department says cameras will increase transparency and public trust.
This comes a year after Oakwood was accused of racial biasin its traffic stops. That’s an accusation that the department and the city council deny.
But body cams are one aspect of policing that law enforcement and concerned citizens agree on, and Oakwood isn’t alone in wanting to acquire cameras.
Last month, Kettering Police said they would be asking their city council for more than $230,000 for 90 body cameras, and theDayton City Commission says it wants to see Dayton Police start wearing cameras in 2021.