Baltimore City police have announced the launch of their pilot body camera program.
Officials said 155 officers and detectives in the Central, Eastern and Western districts, Special Enforcement Unit members and Special Operations Sections in the Eastern and Western districts are among those wearing the devices starting Monday.
During a news conference Monday, officials said officers who volunteered to participate in the 54-day pilot program or those selected by their commanders to wear one of the three body cameras will help determine which vendor city police will eventually use.
Ten bids were initially submitted to the city, and after evaluation, the following three vendor teams were selected:
- Taser International Inc., offering the Axon Body Camera and Amazon Web Services
- Atlantic Tactical Inc., offering the Vievu LE4 Camera and Microsoft Azure storage service
- Brekford Corp. partnering with Panasonic using the Arbitrator Camera and Microsoft Azure storage service
Officials said those outfitted with the devices will help decide who the contract will be awarded to based on several factors, including reliability and ease of use.
The plan is to implement the selected vendor's camera beginning in February 2016 and continuing over the next two years for members of the Baltimore Police Department with direct contact to the public, officials said.
The video and audio will be downloaded, the information will be reviewed and depending on circumstances of the case police will then determine how the information will be used, officials said.
Officials said in some instances, such as those involving sexual assault victims or cases, officers will be able to censor or turn the camera off.
Source WBAL
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