Governor Wants Body Cams For All Ohio Police Officers
Governor Mike DeWine wants all police officers in Ohio to wear a body camera.
“My goal is every police officer in the State of Ohio have a body camera,” DeWine said Wednesday.
“I think it protects police. It protects the public. It’s good to have that transparency.”
The governor is proposing using a $10 million grant to buy body cameras for law enforcement agencies across Ohio.
He says around 180 of the state’s 900 law enforcement agencies currently have body cams, which were recommended by a state advisory board.
Last summer, we asked Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn about body cameras, and she said they are something they consider on a regular basis and are not opposed to.
However, she said the cost of the technology and the ongoing data storage is quite expensive and, as things stand now, that cost is not justified because the department doesn’t have many complaints or issues.
She added that the department does a lot of training on de-escalation and the proper procedure for physical altercations.
#OHBudget Body Camera Proposal: This map shows agencies that have body cameras ??? are certified in Ohio's minimum standards. We estimate that up to two-thirds of law enforcement agencies statewide – mostly Ohio’s smaller jurisdictions – do not have body camera equipment. pic.twitter.com/JZQQfPnGu6
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) February 3, 2021