Houston Police Officers are going to be expected to wear body cameras in the next coming months.
According to Chron, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Acting Police Chief Martha Montalvo announced the mandatory issuance of body cameras during a news conference Thursday afternoon.
“It’s my hope that this particular device will only help to make this city safer and create and enhance the relationship between police and the community, because when all is said and done, we’re on the same side fighting those who want to commit crimes against citizens in this city,” Turner said.
Around 4,100 body cameras will be deployed to officers in the department, which will take about 12 to 18 months to implement.
HPD says that the cameras have a battery life of about nine hours -the length of an average shift- and that the device is started by pressing a button. At the end of shift, the officer will place the cameras in docking stations which will upload the camera footage to storage servers.
Activist organizations in Houston hope the camera will provide that ability for the public and defense attorneys to access the video, presumably for high-profile incidents.
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