LAKELAND, Fla. — Body cameras are on the radar for officers in the City of Lakeland after commissioners held a workshop to discuss the details.
The Lakeland City Commission invited Kissimmee Police Chief O’Dell and a member of the Cape Coral Police Department Friday to help sell the city on why adding the technology might be a good idea.
“I think it is in the transparency of your agency and being that open book for the public,” said O’Dell while briefing commissioners on the pros and cons of his agency’s experience with police body cams.
“I believe the body camera improves behavior on both sides of the equation, not only for the officers but for the members of the public to know they’re on camera," he added.
Both the Kissimme Police Department and Cape Coral Police Department are around the same size as Lakeland's police force and adopted body cameras early on.
“We love the camera systems and I think even the officers at this point love having the actual video to back them up,” said Lt. Allan Kolak of the Cape Coral Police Department.
The Lakeland City Commission started more seriously exploring the idea of investing in body cameras following the death of George Floyd and after hearing requests from the community.
“It’s something that’s needed now,” said Terry Coney, President of the Lakeland Branch of the NAACP. “You have to look at it as a tool and an improvement in technology.”
But body cams don’t come cheap. The city’s IT department briefed commissioners on options for rollout, which must take into consideration the city’s existing in-car dash cams which currently use different technology.
If all-new dash and body cams were purchased from the same vendor it would cost the city an estimated $1.8 million, according to the city’s estimate.
Commissioners expressed interest in exploring the idea, not only to improve transparency but as a way to highlight all the good officers do.
“There’s so many things that police officers do that are positive and great for the community that no one ever sees,” said Commissioner Chad McLeod. “The chance to magnify that and show more of that with the community, I haven’t really considered that to the level that I’m hearing from you all so thank you for sharing that,” he told the presenters.
Terry Coney from the NAACP says he was hopeful the commission would move forward on the body camera investment.
“I think we can do this and I think we have the city commissioners that will step up and make the right decision,” Coney said.
Lakeland Police Chief Ruben Garcia spoke to 10 Tampa Bay after the last public workshop and told us Monday the police department is now moving forward in the research process for body cameras and seeking the best fit for the city of Lakeland.
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