The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Grant helps get body, dashboard cams for police
WINSTED — Police officers soon will be equipped with new body cameras and dashboard cameras, with some grant funding helping to make it possible.
Winchester Police Chief William Fitzgerald, Officer Joshua Blass and Town Manager Josh Kelly made the proposal, saying the state is requiring all departments to use the electronic equipment for safety and recording incidents involving officers and the public, by July 1, 2022.
“Police are now required by the state to have body and dash cams as standard equipment,” Kelly said. “We are following this partially-funded state mandate.”
The Board of Selectmen approved the move this week.
“After researching and verifying funds received from the Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture program since 2019, I have determined the town has $57,054 in its grants and donations fund available for certain restricted expenditures,” Finance Director Bruce Stratford said in a statement. “The costs associated with securing the body cam system appear to meet the following expenditure categories:
Law Enforcement Equipment and Contracts for Services.”
The total cost of the dash and body cams is $41,786, including a one-year service contract for training totaling $12,959.
Winsted is using grant funding totaling $20,893 for the equipment. The total cost to the department will be $38,853 for the first year.
My understanding is that the grant we receive covers 50% of the cost of licensing and hardware; the remainder will be paid by the Town.
Finding the right vendor required a bit of research, Fitzgerald said, and he assigned Blass to look into the cost and various options available.
“The benefits of a body cam are that they provide clear evidence with livestreamed recording,” Fitzgerald said. “The cameras can also be interactive with other police departments, and they are also recommended by the state attorney’s office.”
The department chose the company Axon, saying it was the best choice based on the services it provides such as replacements, warranties and training.
“They are recommended, and 46 other departments in Connecticut use this particular model,” Fitzgerald said. “The company provides free training, and they will be replaced at no cost to the department for the first two years, and have a five-year warranty. An evidence officer will maintain and monitor the camera system.”
Between five and six officers are on duty on a regular day, and all will be equipped with the cameras while on duty. The department is ordering 25 cameras, since each officer must have an individual one that is his or her responsibility, Blass said.
Fitzgerald stressed the importance of an officer having a camera.
“When you want to know why an officer did what he did during an incident (or arrest), the camera footage and the dash footage is important,” the chief said.
Dash cameras, according to Blass, turn on automatically when a police vehicle hits 60 mph or more, and when the vehicle’s emergency lights are activated.
Selectman Jack Bourque asked why the department needed 25 cameras. “You might have 5-6 officers on any shift,” he said. “Why the extras?”
“Every officer has to have its own identifiable body camera,” the chief said. “When officers are within 30 feet of each other (or another person) they turn on automatically.
“I think although the state is forcing this upon us, for officer safety and accountability, it’s in the officers’ best interests to have the best equipment we can find. It’s for their safety as well as the public’s. They are great safeguards for the community,” he said.
“What I also like is that with the warranty, we don’t have to worry about replacing them ourselves,” Fitzgerald said. “They’re automatically replaced if there’s a problem.”
Officers don’t take the cameras home, they are left in a charging station at the Police Department. Fitzgerald said officers can’t override or change a recording on the cameras.
“The training on these will take some time — it’s sort of a long process,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s important for them to be familiar with the equipment and understand how it works, what the benefits are.”