COLUMBUS – A nine-member committee, consisting of safety officials, faith and community leaders and legal experts has been charged with the task of figuring out how to outfit Columbus police officers with body cameras.
Mayor Michael Coleman announced the formation off the committee Tuesday, saying that it was “charged with recommending an implementation strategy and process as the body cameras come into use sometime next year.”
“This technology can be used to improve safety and serve as a tool to protect both police officers and the citizens they encounter. We must create a thoughtful policy for body camera use that is fiscally feasible and protective of citizen and police privacy,” Coleman said.
City Safety Director George Speaks will head up the panel, which will take four to six months to study how the cameras work, examine other cities’ successful use of them, privacy concerns and potential cost before making a recommendation.
The Columbus Dispatch reports the city estimates it will cost at least several million dollars to buy equipment and store and maintain captured footage.
The other members of the committee are:
Bo Chilton, IMPACT Community Action
Kyle Erdeljac, Fraternal Order of Police
Gale Hill, Local Business Owner
Margot Kaminski, The Ohio State University Law School
Karla Rothan, Stonewall Columbus
Abdikhayr Soofe, Community Relations Commission
Robert Stewart, Department of Public Safety
Robert Strasbaugh, Division of Police
Dr. C. Dexter Wise III, Faith Ministries Church
The committee’s meetings will be open to the public, Coleman’s office sai