TROY – City police are drawing closer to deploying body cameras in the 130-member department department, and a draft policy on the use of the cameras is nearly complete, Chief Brian Owens said.

The union representing the patrol officers and sergeants has looked at body cameras available from two vendors, but the city cannot launch a pilot program for the equipment until agreement is reached with the Troy Police Benevolent Association.

Officer Nick Laviano, the PBA president, said the union wants to ensure the cameras selected will be sturdy enough to withstand the daily use and sometimes physical confrontations officers may face in an altercation with a suspect. The body camera policy would have to address whether the camera footage could be used in disciplinary actions.

Retired Chief John Tedesco told the City Council Public Safety Committee in 2016 that it would cost $75,000 to outfit 25 police officers with the body cameras and put dashboard cameras in four patrol vehicles.

On Friday, Attorney General Barbara Underwood announced the creation of a $2 million CAMS (Capture an Account of a Material Situation) program to provide grants for local police departments with a minimum strength of 130 officers and a maximum of 3,000 officers. Troy is right at the minimum size for a police department to obtain grant funding.

Troy would be eligible to receive $70,000 from CAMS as long as a cash match of $23,333 is provided. The funding comes from money seized in organized crime cases.

A report by the attorney general's office on the fatal April 2016 shooting of a DWI suspect by a city police sergeant recommended that the city outfit its officers with body cameras. There was no city video of the shooting.

City Council President Carmella Mantello wrote Mayor Patrick Madden Friday urging his administration to apply for the new state grant by Sept. 7, saying, "the use of body cams will benefit both our residents and our police department."