The Springfield City Prosecutor is recommending that city police look into using body cameras.
At a recent Springfield City Council meeting, Matt Cox made the case for the devices. He says they’ve been effectively used by other police departments around Oregon, and are important for accountability and transparency.
And from a prosecutor’s point of view, Cox says body cam footage can eliminate "gray areas".
“Sometimes it’s hard to describe a situation, sometimes it’s hard to describe an individual," Cox tells KLCC.
"But when the jury or prosecutor sees that person on video, being crystal-clear, “Okay, that’s exactly who that witness was trying to describe.”
Springfield officials haven’t acted on the proposal yet. Cox says funding is a big issue.
The City of Eugene implemented its program over two years ago, with the help of grants. Officials paid $250,000 towards a federal matching grant the EPD received in 2017. The biggest costs are docking stations, software, and video storage demands for the body cameras.
Copyright 2019, KLCC.
