After numerous delays, the first Minneapolis police officers have started wearing body cameras while patrolling the city's streets, as part of a rollout that will outfit nearly 600 patrolmen in all five police precincts with the devices over the next few months.
About 100 of the cameras were deployed in the downtown First Precinct last week, with slightly more than that number expected to be issued to beat cops working north Minneapolis later this month, officials said on Wednesday.
"I'm pleased that it's happened and can't wait for them to hit the Fourth," said councilman Blong Yang, head of the Public Safety Committee.
Yang, whose ward includes parts of north Minneapolis, said that the cameras were a valuable tool for police accountability and transparency at a time when tension is growing between communities and local law enforcement agencies.
Yang said that he was generally pleased with the department's policy governing the cameras' use, which was unveiled last month after several revisions.
"We have to have a policy that serves everybody, not just the cops," he said on Wednesday.
Still, critics have concerns about a policy that allows officers to review footage from a non-critical incident before writing their reports.
Minneapolis police Chief Janeé Harteau told the Police Conduct Oversight Commission last month that the department's fledgling body camera policy was in line with national "best practices," but had also taken into consideration public feedback on how the devices would be used to improve officer accountability and police-community relations.
