Stop that monkey!

There were a lot of contenders for this week’s only-in-Florida headlines, including: “Rowdy alligator gets stuck in patio furniture” … “Rare Florida panther attacks, kills cat in front yard of home” … “Monkey clings to Pasco man’s chest during stolen vehicle

arrest” … “Waffles used to lure wandering black bear into trap at Fort Myers apartment complex.”

(Honestly, you could probably trap me with a waffle, too.)

But this week’s winner was a runaway champ since virtually every word was pure magic: “Diaper-wearing monkey named Spanky attacks Home Depot worker in Okeechobee.”

More cameras, transparency

Kudos to Maitland and Eatonville for announcing they will soon join the majority of local cities that strap body cameras to their police officers.

Cameras should be standard-issue equipment in the 21st Century.

They protect cops from bogus accusations. They give prosecutors and juries more evidence to put away bad guys.

And they can give the public assurances that it knows what really happened when there’s a dispute.

Certainly cameras aren’t perfect. And they only work when they’re turned on. But, when they’re used properly, most departments give them rave reviews.

“No complaints whatsoever,” said St. Cloud Police Chief Pete Gauntlett after his department had them running a while. “It makes everybody’s account of the story exact.”

Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood gave a similarly hearty endorsement, saying: “At first, I thought my most aggressive cops wouldn’t want it. I was wrong. They wanted it. It was the bums who didn’t want it.” Which brings us to Winter Park. As reporter Lisa Maria Garza noted in her story, leaders in Winter Park still have no plans to buy cameras. While Mayor Steve Leary requested them last year, his fellow leaders fretted about the need and the costs.

Yes, a town building a $30 million library fretted about the cost of $500 cameras.

Including video storage, maintenance and amenities, departments have found they can equip their forces for $2,000 an officer or less. It’s a rounding error when compared to the total cost of putting an officer on the street — and a fraction of what some places have paid to settle excessive-force cases when there wasn’t any video evidence around.

That’s why most departments already have cameras. Because deciding you need evidence after it’s gone doesn’t make much sense.