The Oklahoma City Council on Tuesday approved policies for body-worn cameras for the city’s police department.
The program begins with a three-system “wear test,” and then Oklahoma City police will deploy 100 body-worn cameras for a yearlong trial program.
At the council meeting Tuesday, Chief of Police Bill Citty said the cameras provide an opportunity to improve transparency and confidence in policing procedures.
“I think it's very, very important that supervisors do have the ability to check on the officers' performance by use of the video,” he said. “It's just one more tool to help make this department more accountable to the public we serve.”
Citty said the department has developed a detailed procedural manual on the use of cameras.
Oklahoma City police estimate the initial cost of deployment to be $405,000.
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