After Ferguson shook the nation and reignited debates on police accountability, President

By Kelton Sears • December 2, 2014 4:48 pm
Harrell and the council hope devices like this Taser Axon Body Cam will be implemented in Seattle by 2016, thanks in part to new Federal funding.
Harrell and the council hope devices like this Taser Axon Body Cam will be implemented in Seattle by 2016, thanks in part to new Federal funding.

After Ferguson shook the nation and reignited debates on police accountability, President Obama announced he would pledge $263 million in federal funding for police training, $75 million of which would go towards outfitting officers across the country with body cameras.

After the announcement, Seattle councilmember Bruce Harrell released a statement urging Seattle to apply for the federal funding to equip SPD with the technology by the year 2016:

“I applaud President Obama’s announcement to allocate $263 million for a new program that will provide body-worn cameras for the police and expand training for law enforcement agencies. Specifically, the President’s proposal is a $75 million investment over three years that could help purchase 50,000 body-worn cameras nationwide. The Body-Worn Camera Partnership Program would provide a 50 percent match to states and cities who purchase body-worn cameras and hardware storage.“I am in favor of our City applying for this grant with the goal of full deployment of body cameras for the Seattle Police Department in 2016. Seattle is currently on schedule to begin the body camera pilot at the end of this year with a complete assessment report completed September 2015.“I have long advocated for body cameras, a progressive game-changing effort to improve public safety, police accountability, and transparency. Body cameras provide impartial evidence and build trust with the community. The public deserves to have clear video evidence of police and civilian interactions, so we can more accurately examine incidents of police misconduct and produce video and audio evidence when shootings occur. One solution to allow us to better understand what happened at Ferguson is to deploy body cameras on all police officers.”

That ​pilot program​ Harrell mentions is on track to deploy body cameras on a dozen SPD officers by the end of 2014, part of an experiment police departments statewide have begun to explore including Spokane, Bremerton, and Bellingham. Post-Ferguson, Seattle Police Officers’ Guild President Ron Smith changed his opinion on body cameras—he now supports the motion to implement them.

“I believe that if there had been a camera on Officer (Darren) Wilson we probably would not have had the riots and disturbances,” Smith told the Seattle Times.

Harrell has stated that allotting the $407,000 it would take to outfit 680 Seattle officers with cameras has wide support on the council, and the extra money from Obama’s new federal package will certainly help move the ball in that direction.