Florida police department to begin using body-mounted cameras

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Sarasota police officers will begin wearing body-mounted cameras later this year in an effort to increase police transparency.

That’s a topic of heightened national interest in the wake of the Ferguson, Mo., police shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager.

But rather than resist the accountability measure, the Sarasota Police Department is the initiative’s chief proponent.

“It’s a modern and professional use of technology to modify people’s behaviors, both the police officer and the citizen,” Sarasota Police Chief Bernadette DiPino said in an email.

“These cameras will give a look from a police officer’s perspective and we will be able to capture information and it will be able to help us with training, it will help us make sure our police officers are doing what they’re supposed to be doing and also make sure the citizens’ actions are captured to help for use in evidence later,” DiPino added.

Click for more from Watchdog.org