Most Peoria police officers will be wearing body cameras by March of next year.
On Tues., city council voted to accept a Department of Justice grant of a quarter-million dollars to purchase the cameras. Police Chief Jerry Mitchell says the money will cover the price of 140 cameras.
"That will allow us to outfit every officer that’s assigned to uniform patrol, including our traffic investigators, most of our supervisors that work the street," Mitchell said. "Anyone that’s assigned to uniformed patrol would be outfitted with a camera."
The police department will recommend a preferred camera to the council before any purchase is made. Each camera will be assigned to one officer who will be responsible for its care.
A committee that includes members of the public will develop a policy for the cameras and storage procedures for video.
