FRESNO (KMJ) — Fresno’s Police Chief says the evidence captured by body-worn cameras is critical for officers to back themselves up.
“There’s been a few incidents that have occurred across this nation that have changed policing forever and has altered the perception that people have of law enforcement – unfortunately”, said Chief Jerry Dyer in front of City Council members.
“I can tell you of incidents where our officers have been dealing with people who are highly emotional and the officer reminds them that they’re on video and their emotions calm down. Then they’re able to engage in some good dialogue. That’s the purpose of the camera”.
The Council approved the purchase of 400 cameras for officers – and Chief Dyer says there are benefits for police having a camera when everyone else has one on their phone too.
“The difficulty is we’re getting video presented to us that doesn’t capture the entire incident and doesn’t capture the perception of the officer”.
The entire purchase is in excess of $2.5 million.
