Cincinnati police: Body cameras were a change for the better

On Wednesday, more than a year after Cincinnati police adopted one of the most advanced body camera systems in the state, Lt.

Steve Saunders said it’s been a change for the better.

AS POLICE TRANSPARENCY TAKESTHE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT -- WEARE TALKING ABOUT BODY CAMERASYSTEMS BEING UTILIZED HERE INTHE TRI-STATE.WCPO NINE NEWS REPORTERCOURTNEY FRANCISCO CHECKED INWITH A LOCAL DEPARTMENT --PUTTING LEADING TECHNOLOGY INTHIS FIELD TO WORK.THE CINCINNATI POLICEDEPARTMENT HAS BEEN USING ONEOF THE MOST ADVANCED CAMERASYSTEMS AVAILABLE... I WASHERE WHEN THEY ANNOUNCED THATMORE THAN A YEAR AGO... SO ICHECKED IN NOW TO ASK HOW ITHAS CHANGED POLICING HERE.---NATCINCINNATI POLICE SAY VIDEOFOOTAGE CAN BE SOME OF THEMOST IMPORTANT EVIDENCE IN ACASE... (Slight Nat under myvoice during pause here)ñ ANDIN BUILDING COMMUNITYRELATIONSHIPS.SOT: LT.

STEVESAUNDERS, CINCINNATI POLICEDEPARTMENT722 the ability tohave whether that's a bodycamera or a dash camera foryour vehicle is an addedbenefit.

So there's lots ofpeople that are recordingevents... (CUT TO WITH VIDEOOVER OF EVENT) we have theability through body camerasto record it from ourperspective, again, only fromwhat the camera sees, but wecan at least provide thatcontext for the situation."LT.STEVE SAUNDERS SAYS THECINCINNATI POLICE DEPARTMENTIS KNOWN FOR KEEPING UP TODATE WITH THE LATEST CAMERATECHNOLOGY.NATSAUNDERS WASTHERE LAST FEBRUARY WHENCINCINNATI POLICE ANNOUNCED ITHAD ADOPTED ADVANCED BODYCAMERA TECHNOLOGY... THATRECORDS AUTOMATICALLY WHEN ANOFFICER PULLS HIS GUN...NATSAUNDERS 112 when they taketheir taser out of the holsterSUPERVISORS CAN WATCH WHAT ISHAPPENING LIVE....SOT: SAUNDERS656 Im not aware of anysituation where we've actuallyused that in real time butit's nice to know that we havethat access and we can use itif need be.OHIO HAS ABOUT 900LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES- ONLY183 HAD BODY CAMERAS FOROFFICERS AS OF THIS FEBRUARY,GOVERNOR MIKE DEWINE SAYS.HEPROPOSED SETTING ASIDE 10MILLION DOLLARS FOR CAMERAS.INDIANA'S GOVERNOR SAID LASTYEAR- HE WANTS EVERY TROOPERWITH A CAMERA BY SPRING2021... LAWMAKERS ARE VOTINGON A BUDGET THURSDAY.I'MWAITING ON A RESPONSE FROMKENTUCKY'S GOVERNOR.SOT:SAUNDERS758 if all you have iswhat is produced or providedfrom the public's perspectiveon social media platforms andthey're sharing videos, thatcan confuse people too(butt towith video over maybe)814 itmay not show the entireencounterCPD'S TECHNOLOGYCOSTS ROUGHLY 24 MILLIONDOLLARS...THAT'S MORE THANDOUBLE SOME POLICE FORCEBUDGETS IN THE TRI-STATE...BUTIT COULD BE WORTH IT.SOT:SAUNDERS617 you'll see greatbenefits from this from atransparency side for sure---IWILL PUT MORE INFORMATION ONTHE LATEST TECHNOLOGYCONNECTED TO THIS STORY ON OURWEBSITE WCPO DOT COM.REPORTINGIN CINCINNATI, CF, WCPO NINENEWS.