MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Despite a big announcement nearly two months ago about body cameras for Memphis Police, they still aren’t officially on the streets, and the administration still won’t commit to a launch date.
Back in September, MPD showed WREG what a squad car equipped with cameras and GPS would look like.
But all that equipment still isn’t out on the streets.
On Wednesday, Memphis Mayor A C Wharton said the cameras are still in a trial run.
Wharton has been vocal about the need for cameras and transparency. He said the DA’s Office, MPD and the Clerk’s Office all have to work together so they’re on the same page when it comes to protocols.
“There’s a human element in it. When do you turn it on? When do you turn it off? What do you give to the prosecutor? What does the prosecutor do with it? How long do you keep it in your records?” explained Wharton.
Wharton said actually getting the cameras was the easy part.
“This is not nearly a matter of Toney Armstrong saying, ‘Ah ha! I got somebody cameras. Hit the switch.'”
Before MPD decided to go with the company TASER, the department spent time going through trial runs with other camera companies.
WREG asked Wharton if it was a goal to have cameras fully deployed on the streets by the time he left office at the end of the year.
“We’re not going to put it out there until we know everything works.”
As for now, Wharton said he did not know how many cameras are on the streets or how many cars have GPS in them.
WREG asked MPD how many officers are trained with the cameras. Wednesday it never got back to us, but on Monday they said 1,617, which is about three-quarters of its officers.