Tag Archives: body cameras

CPD announces next 7 districts to receive body cameras

(CHICAGO) Chicago Police announced Sunday that the next seven police districts to be outfitted with body cameras for officers will be the Englewood, Harrison, Chicago Lawn, Grand Crossing, Grand Central, Central and Near North districts.

Infrastructure improvements to accommodate the cameras will begin this fall in the districts, which cover much of the West and South sides where violence in the city typically is concentrated.

Police Supt. Eddie Johnson announced last week that all 22 police districts will be equipped with cameras for every officer on every shift, with the number of cameras rising from 2,000 now to about 7,000 by 2018. The expansion is expected to cost $8 million through city funding and grants.

The pilot program began in January 2015 in the Shakespeare District on the Northwest Side. This year, the department expanded the program to the Austin, Wentworth, Deering, Ogden, South Chicago and Gresham districts.

“Body cameras have proven to be a valuable tool in promoting departmental accountability and trust, while providing a firsthand look into the dangerous situations Chicago police officers face every day to protect our communities,” Johnson said in a statement.

But a police-involved shooting in the South Chicago district has raised concerns about whether cops are purposely turning off their cameras. Paul O’Neal, 18, was fatally shot on July 28 after he hit two police SUVs in a stolen Jaguar. Johnson stripped three officers of their police powers for allegedly violating police policy.

The camera of the officer who fired the fatal shot apparently wasn’t recording when he fired. But after the shooting, his camera captured him saying he didn’t know O’Neal was armed. Later, a supervisor cautioned officers to “make sure these are all off now,” apparently talking about their cameras.

© Copyright 2016 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

McCarthy: Expand use of body cameras

By Bill Cameron, WLS News

(CHICAGO) Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy is expanding the use of body cameras on police officers.

Listen to Bill’s report:

McCarthy told the City Club of Chicago the good news from his pilot program is that they seem to be working.

“We’re now expanding it and what I find fascinating in the first 90 days of this program, we don’t have one good video to show anybody where you say ‘this is the reason why we need body cams,’” McCarthy said to laughs. “You know, we’re laughing, but that’s obviously a good thing because it’s my contention that everyone acts better when they’re on film.”

McCarthy updated his body cam policy at the City Club where he was talking up his community policing outreach.

@ Copyright 2015 WLS News