Curtatone says Somerville will use cop cams

Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone said he supports putting body cameras on his city’s police officers and that he hopes to have it done within a year.

“It’s not just about protecting residents, but protecting police officers,” Curtatone said during an in-studio sit-down yesterday with Boston Herald Radio’s “Herald Drive” show. “There have been many cases in my time as a mayor or an alderman where an officer is accused of doing something wrong at the scene and there is no evidence to back it up. This puts us all on a level playing field.”

The mayor said Somerville police Chief Dave Fallon is also on board with putting body cameras on cops and called the issue the “top priority” of the current collective bargaining negotiations. He said the current talks could go on for several months and that a certain amount of training and an establishment of procedures for how and when the cameras can be used would follow.

“I hope, within the next year, we will be close to implementing it,” he said.

The Boston City Council heard a proposal last week that calls for equipping city police officers with body cameras. Both Mayor Martin J. Walsh and police Commissioner William B. Evans have said they would be open to a pilot program to see how the cameras would work in the field. The movement for police body cameras has been fueled by several high-profile incidents around the country where police have been accused of using excessive force.

“Are we not all concerned about what we have seen out there?” Curtatone asked. “There are some pretty horrific cases.”

Curtatone said a pilot program in Somerville is unlikely but he would have to determine how the city transitions to full implementation once the details and training issues are worked out.

“You want well-documented standards, protocols and procedures,” he said.

The mayor said Somerville’s police force will grow to approximately 125 “sworn personnel” and he did not know exactly how the cameras would be funded or when they would possibly be approved for use in his city.

“It’s no different than any of the equipment we provide our first-responders with,” he said. “Whether it’s grant-funded or not, it is something we are going to fund.”