OLIVE BRANCH, Miss. – Like many law enforcement agencies across the country, the Olive Branch Police Department announced it was considering arming officers with body cameras.
The city said it would apply for the Justice Department’s $20 million body camera pilot program.
It would need about 70 cameras for officers.
For the past four months, the department has been trying out a body camera.
The Reinforcer was about the size of an officer’s radio and clipped right on to their uniform.
The camera worked in conjunction with another camera mounted in the officer’s car.
Both cameras were designed to automatically turn on when the officer activated his lights.
“The feedback that we’ve gotten has been mostly positive. There are some issues regarding size and bulkiness of it and the battery life,” said Jay Nichols, Media Specialist with the department.
Officers told WREG the camera still needed some tweaking and they were still trying to figure out the best place to wear the camera.
Some attachments allow the camera to be mounted on an earpiece or glasses.
The police department said video from the camera has helped with one DUI case and officers don’t seem to mind wearing it.
“They see it as a way to protect themselves. It’s a way that they can show they did nothing wrong in the incident they are reporting,” said Nichols.
They said it could also help them see anything they might have initially missed at a crime scene.
