Michael Nutter Wants 16 Times as Many Police Body Cameras Next Year

Photo Credit: Matt Rourke | AP

For the past few months, a police district in North Philadelphia has equipped about 30 cops with body cameras as part of a pilot program. If Mayor Michael Nutter gets his way, police around the city will be provided with an additional 450 body cameras in the coming year.

Nutter has set aside an extra $500,000 in his proposed 2015-16 budget to purchase, store and install the cameras.

Shortly before Nutter delivered his budget address in City Council’s chambers early Thursday, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said the experiment with body cameras in the 22nd District had been informative.

“We’ve learned a lot,” he said. “We want to roll out across the city. It’s going to take us about maybe three, four years to have it fully implemented.”

Ramsey said police have been testing cameras from seven different vendors.

“We’ve already had some that have not met standards because they’re just a little flimsy and do not hold up under daily use by police,” said Ramsey, “and we’ve been talking to the officers, and we get their feedback as to what’s easy to use what seems to be the best model.”

Last week, Ramsey also affirmed his support for police body cameras overall: “The concept, I’m all on board on.” A White House task force co-chaired by Ramsey this month recommended that more police use body cameras, but President Barack Obama also cautioned that they aren’t a “panacea.”

The 22nd District’s Officer Robert Wilson III was shot and killed Thursday evening. He was not wearing a body camera at the time of his death.

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