Brooklyn Park police officers will be outfitted with body cameras under a $46,000 contract approved by the City Council on Monday that calls for a full deployment by March.
The move comes after two community meetings at which residents showed their support, and a 60-day pilot program.
L3 Communications, the city's squad car video supplier, donated the 26 cameras when the department upgraded its equipment last year. The department will buy more to outfit every sworn officer when a new version of the camera is due out in March, said Police Chief Craig Enevoldsen.
Before they voted in favor of the cameras, council members Mike Trepanier, John Jordan and Peter Crema expressed concerns, saying footage should be private. Police chiefs statewide are waiting on the Legislature for guidance on how long data must be stored and who can see it.
Mayor Jeff Lunde cast the lone dissenting vote but added later that he understood the value of body cameras.
KAREN ZAMORA
