Flagstaff Police Request More Body Cameras

The use of body cameras have been a success nationwide, and the same is true for members of the Flagstaff Police Department in Arizona.

The request for more cameras comes for supervisors and specialty assignment officers, according to the Arizona Daily Sun.

Flagstaff City Council will hear the department’s request for 34 more Taser Axon Flex cameras at its meeting on Tuesday.

The $77,762 price tag includes the cameras, accessories, shipping, warranty and a five year contract for digital storage of the videos. The department currently has $85,000 budgeted in 2016 to cover the cost of the cameras.

… In February, FPD Sgt. Margaret Bentzen said that the department saw a 12 percent reduction in the number of times officers used force in the field in the fourth quarter of 2014 compared to the previous year. The number of complaints filed against officers also dropped by 11 percent in the same time period.

The Flagstaff Police Department has several guidelines in place for when officers must use their body cameras. The cameras themselves “also record the 30 seconds before an officer pushes the record button,” the Arizona Daily Sun reported.