Joe Guillen

Detroit Free Press

The Detroit City Council today approved a $5.2-million contract to equip police officers with body cameras.

The technology will allow the city to hold both officers and the public accountable during traffic stops and other interactions.

“It gives the community some assurance that when they’re stopped by a Detroit police officer, that the conduct will be professional,” Police Chief James Craig said, “and likewise, when a Detroit police officer has contact with a member of the community, they know that any false allegations that are made will be properly addressed.”

Most police body cam footage would be exempt under bill

The first 25 body cameras will be rolled out by the end of June in the 4th and 7th precincts, Craig said. It is expected to take 14 months, beginning in August, to issue all 1,500 cameras throughout the department.

The contract with WatchGuard Video, a company from Allen, Texas, includes 450 in-vehicle cameras which will be integrated with the body cams. Both recording devices will begin recording several ways, including when an officer turns on a cruiser’s siren or lights and when the rear doors open. The cameras will also be able to start manually.

The popularity of body cameras for police officers has grown in recent years since some have captured police misconduct involving the public, including verbal assaults, beatings and shootings in cities across the country. It was an officer's body camera that captured the shooting death of motorist Samuel DuBose by a University of Cincinnati police officer in July 2015.

Mark Diaz, president of the Detroit Police Officers Association, said the union supports the use of body cameras. Diaz said it will be helpful in disproving false allegations made against officers.

“It's all about transparency on the police side,” Diaz said. “We have nothing to hide."

Diaz said body cams will show the whole story of a police encounter. Some cell phone videos broadcast through the media, he said, only show police officers using force; they don’t show the actions that precipitated the need for police force.

Detroit’s new system will show three points of view: the officer’s perspective, the front of the patrol car and the backseat.

Councilwoman Janeé Ayers said she thinks the majority of the community is in favor of the cameras.

“I think the community is tired of not being able to say whether they were innocent and whether or not the police officer was wrong,” Ayers said.

The cameras will be paid for, in part, with a $1-million federal grant.

WatchGuard Video was selected because it was less expensive and the company offered more experience than the second-ranked proposal from Taser, which cost $8.9 million.