Police body camera advances

Published 10:05 am Tuesday, September 16, 2014

MINNEAPOLIS — A panel of Minneapolis officials has approved a $170,000 pilot program to place body cameras on 36 police officers.

A Minneapolis City Council committee authorized the pilot Monday. It directed city employees to report back on questions including how the success of the six- to nine-month pilot can be measured and independently reviewed.

The city has pledged another $1.1 million for the camera program next fall. The full council is set to finalize the pilot plans later this week.

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Supporters of the initiative said it will hold officers and citizens more accountable and will make disputes easy to review. The cameras can be clipped onto eyeglasses or the front of a shirt. The pilot will test both methods.

Police in Duluth and Burnsville are already using body cameras.