Little Rock police receive grant for body cameras

Little Rock police officers could be wearing body cameras as soon as April, the department’s chief said Thursday after announcing a $194,000 federal grant to buy the devices.

A U.S. Department of Justice grant will be used to buy the devices and pay for video storage, with the caveat the city will chip in the same amount.

Police Chief Keith Humphrey said Thursday officers will begin testing two types of body cameras in coming weeks. After a two-month trial, the department will choose a vendor and begin writing a policy to put at least 150 cameras on the streets.

“We are still in the early steps of training our officers on the usage and what the expectations are,” Humphrey said. “Right now we’re in the testing and evaluation stage to see what’s best for Little Rock.”

The department has been looking to buy body-worn cameras for nearly five years, but money has presented a problem, said Assistant Chief Alice Fulk, who headed the effort in 2014.

“For transparency purposes, our department has wanted them for a long time,” Fulk said. “We have dash cameras with audio, but today the public would like more than that, and the officers want to have them, as well. Funding was an obstacle.”

Mayor Frank Scott Jr. campaigned in part on the promise of body-worn cameras for Little Rock officers, and Humphrey spoke highly of the devices during a community forum before he was hired in March.

Little Rock issued a request for proposals from camera vendors April 1, and Humphrey said four vendors submitted proposals. A committee of law enforcement and city personnel narrowed the list from four to two, which officers will begin testing.

Humphrey wouldn’t disclose the names of the vendors being considered but said Axon, which recently contracted with the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office to outfit 235 deputies and employees with the devices, was among the four vendors initially submitting proposals.

The goal is to buy at least 150 body cameras, Humphrey said. The department has 594 officers and 13 job vacancies, according to information provided after a Freedom of Information Act request. About 230 of those positions are for patrol officers, and about 75 officers are on the streets at any given time, Humphrey said.