For the time being, Ballwin police officers won’t be using on-body video cameras.

The issue unexpectedly came up at the Oct. 13 Board of Aldermen meeting when Alderman Shamed Dogan (Ward 2) urged during the aldermanic comment period that a few cameras be acquired and used. The body cams would be particularly helpful when Ballwin officers are called to help in areas where civil unrest is occurring, he said.

However, Ballwin Police Chief Steve Schicker said at a budget work session last month that he was not recommending the purchase of body cameras in 2015 due to rapidly changing technology, which makes today’s devices obsolete tomorrow. Schicker also cited challenges of integrating in-car cameras with those worn by police officers and security concerns about images maintained by third-party “cloud” data storage firms . . .

Alderman Jim Terbrock (Ward 1) said he’s “not sure the technology is there yet.”

It was noted that the cameras must be turned on manually and it might be unlikely that officers will put top priority on doing that if they unexpectedly find themselves in a perilous situation.

Aldermen Frank Fleming (Ward 3) agreed, stating “there is a lot we haven’t thought through yet.” What happens, he mused, if a complaint is filed against an officer whose camera wasn’t operating or whose recording was inadvertently erased?