(CHICAGO) The Chicago Police Department says it’ll expand the use of body cameras to include all officers on patrol within two years.
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson announced the plan Sunday and says numbers of body cameras will increase by several thousand to give all patrol officers access to them by 2018. The expansion is expected to cost around $8 million
Police launched a body-cam pilot program in 2015 and it currently includes seven of 22 city police districts. Disputed police shootings since then increased pressure to make officers more accountable, including by recording more interactions with the public.
At least one officer’s body camera didn’t appear to be recording during a fatal July shooting of 18-year-old Paul O’Neal. That raised questions about whether officers can switch the cameras off intentionally.
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