La Plata, MD – Coverage of body cameras on police officers has recently blanketed the national news, and many of the images those cameras capture are shoving societal shortcomings to the forefront of the public consciousness.
As recent weeks have shown, the images can reveal shocking injustice.
And in other cases, the images can protect an officer’s integrity. More communities are turning to body cameras to monitor bad police behavior.
The La Plata town council voted unanimously to provide body cams for its police force, during a meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 27.
“With all of these things occurring across the United States, this is something we’ve talked about for the last couple of years,” said La Plata Councilman Keith Back. “It’s something for both the protection of the officers and citizens.”
La Plata is the only municipality in the tri-county area with its own police department.
“Given the recent shootings, the body cameras have proven beneficial in terms of providing evidence,” La Plata Mayor Roy Hale said. “It’s something I’m very glad our police department is including for their officers.”
“The content cannot be altered by the officer in any way,” Back stated. “Once the officer returns to the vehicle, the information is uploaded very quickly by the in-car computer.
“This resolution brings us to a good place given the current situation in the United States,” Back concluded.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com
