By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Body cameras have been on the Bowling Green Police Division’s wish list for some time. Though all police vehicles are already equipped with dash cameras, no officers have body cams.
But the racial tensions of 2020 may result in the item getting funded for 2021.
Mayor Mike Aspacher said Monday evening that body cams are a priority for him.
“They are important to me because the chief made it clear to me that they are important to him,” Aspacher said.
“Transparency and open communication are certainly priorities,” the mayor said.
Earlier this year, the police administration said the division has been working toward getting body cameras, but the cost had been prohibitive. Preliminary estimates put the cost of the cameras at $100,000 to $120,000, with another $25,000 or so annually for storage of the footage.
The police division is currently trying out some body cameras, according to Joe Fawcett, assistant municipal administrator.
“We are working very hard to identify a way we could implement this as quickly as possible,” Aspacher said. “We are all in agreement there is great value in this.”
The topic came before the City Council’s Transportation and Safety Committee Monday evening, as members discussed budgeting for the cameras next year.
“This has been a conversation in recent months,” Aspacher said. “I have made this a priority” for next year’s budget.
The police division is researching body cameras and looking for possible grant funding.
The mayor explained that the city needs to determine all the impacts on operations. There will be significant up front costs, plus ongoing storage costs. There will also be personnel time cataloguing the videos and redacting portions that legally can’t be released.
“It’s a complicated system,” Aspacher said.
“It’s not as simple as going out and buying some cameras,” he said.
The Transportation and Safety Committee voted to support the efforts to get body cams for the police division. Member Neocles Leontis offered some “friendly amendments” including one requiring that “whenever there is citizen interactions, the cameras should be turned on.”
Committee members Bill Herald and Mark Hollenbaugh suggested that the city stick with the priority of getting the system, then discuss the particulars.
