COLUMBUS – Mayor Andrew Ginther has announced a plan to spend nearly $19 million on upgraded police body-worn and in-cruiser cameras in Columbus.
“This is an essential component to policing reform, trust and transparency,” Ginther said.
Ginther says the cameras will provide an objective assessment of events that happen quickly in chaotic situations.
The city’s contract with Scottsdale, Arizona-based Axon includes more than 2,100 body-worn cameras and 450 in-car cameras that will allow higher-quality audio and video, synchronization between body-worn and in-car cameras, greater video recall abilities, and will include license plate readers.
The cameras, to be implemented by April of next year, will turn on automatically, allow a look-back feature of two minutes, and permit a review of recordings up to 24 hours in the past.
The body-worn cameras will automatically activate when an officer’s weapon is drawn or a rifle or shotgun rack is released.
The cameras will also activate when a cruiser’s lights and sirens are activated, when a cruiser accelerates to a high rate of speed, or when it is involved in a collision.