Atwater police officers to be equipped with body cameras, City Council decides
Atwater police officers will soon be getting a new addition to their official uniform.
Body cameras for each of the department’s 23 sworn officers were unanimously approved for purchase by Atwater City Council on Monday night.
The $105,015 five-year subscription-style agreement with Axon Enterprise was applauded by City Council members as a benefit to both citizens and officer safety at a reasonable price.
“This item is a sign of the times, I would say,” Atwater Police Chief Michael Salvador said at the City Council meeting. “Body worn video now is becoming just as important with police officers as bulletproof vests, and firearms and patrol cars.”
Atwater police currently do not have any body cameras.
The inbound shipment of 25 cameras will fully equip all officers, including reserve officers and the chief, with their own camera. Salvador told the Sun-Star he is hopeful that officers will be wearing the cameras out on duty within six weeks.
Cameras help with transparency, evidence collection
Axon body cameras are widely used nationally and locally, including by the Merced Police Department and Merced County Sheriff’s Office.
The cameras help in terms of police transparency, evidence collection, prosecution and generally helping officers to do their jobs better, Salvador said.
The implementation of the body cameras was outlined as part of the Atwater Police Department’s strategic plan in 2019.
“I think very, very soon it will be mandatory,” Salvador said.
The Axon system includes body cameras, chargers, mounting equipment, cloud storage, management software and integrated evidence software.
The evidence feature allows other law enforcement agencies, like the Merced County District Attorney’s Office, Merced Police Department and County Sheriff’s Office, to access evidence remotely.
City Council previously this year approved a justice assistance grant for the police department. The council also approved the department’s plans to deploy the cameras with both local and grant funds.
The first payment of $21,391 is due this fiscal year and is accounted for in the 2020-21 fiscal budget without any budget amendment needed.
Payment for the remainder of the five-year agreement will be incorporated into future budgets until paid in full and potentially approved for renewal by City Council.
This story was originally published September 1, 2020 at 12:41 PM.
