Doug Ducey said Wednesday that someone is donating 150 body-worn cameras for state police officers, enough to equip about 12% of the force in the coming months.
Ducey’s administration released few details about the cameras, including which officers will get them and what supplier is donating them. Bart Graves, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, said only that the cameras would be deployed to officers stationed in both urban and rural areas.
Ducey last year requested $5 million to buy nearly 1,300 cameras to equip every DPS officer, along with equipment to store video files and 20 employees to handle the data. That request stalled when the coronavirus outbreak forced an early end to the legislative session, but Ducey plans to renew his request next year.
Starting with 150 cameras will help DPS figure out how much staff and other equipment would be needed to equip the entire force, Ducey said in a news release. It’s not clear when officers will begin wearing them.
“Increasing public trust and keeping our state troopers safe are issues on which we can all agree,” Ducey said.
The announcement follows the high-profile shooting of Dion Johnson by a state police officer during a roadside struggle, which was not captured on video. Johnson’s death galvanized protesters demonstrating in Phoenix against police misconduct following the death of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer.
Maricopa County’s top prosecutor, Alister Adel, last week declined to charge Trooper George Cervantes in Johnson’s May 25 death. She urged lawmakers to make body cameras mandatory.
Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
