The Sacramento Police Department is beginning to equip officers and others in the department, including the chief, with body cameras this month and plans to have cameras for all officers by September.
The Sacramento City Council on Tuesday approved a five-year, $4 million agreement to allow the department to purchase 750 cameras for patrol staff and 70 cameras for training. The department will also purchase 50 shared camera units for officers with occasional public contact and 20 spares.
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The city will buy the cameras from Taser International.
Police spokesman Bryce Heinlein says 28 officers should be equipped with cameras by the end of march and all officers are expected to be wearing them by September. Acting Chief Justin Risley added that the cameras are a "great tool" for officers, but also help build "community trust" by providing "transparency."
Body camera video will fall under an existing ordinance mandating its release to the public within 30 days of critical incidents.