PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland City Council voted on Wednesday to approve up to $2.6 million for body-worn cameras from Axon to outfit the Portland Police Bureau (PPB). Commissioners called it an essential step toward accountability.
PPB recently wrapped up a two-month pilot program, with about 150 officers testing the technology. The pilot program went well, according to a report presented to city council on Wednesday. The police bureau hopes to have the cameras rolled out to most officers by next summer.
Nearly 300 patrol officers will wear the cameras everyday, PPB said. Additional 500 sworn members, from detectives to sergeants, will wear them when interacting with the public. Up until now, Portland had the largest municipal police department in the country without body cameras.
"It's long overdue. It is imperative in addressing police accountability," said Commissioner Rene Gonzalez. "It is imperative in mitigating our risk of sometimes unfounded claims made against Portland police."
Mayor Ted Wheeler said that it will be a gradual process to launch the permanent body camera program.
"I also want to just caution the public. It is going to take some time for us to phase in the rollout of body cameras, and make sure that everybody has sufficient training and sufficient understand of how these tools will work," Wheeler said.
The city and the police union compromised on the a body-worn camera agreement back in April. Under that agreement, officers will be able to review footage before writing a report, but only for minor cases. With more serious events, like use-of-force incidents, officers must give an interview prior to watching the video back.
A PPB spokesperson told KGW they're still modifying the permanent policy. As for the pilot policy, officers needed to turn on the cameras for every service call. Cameras automatically turn on when an officer pulls a gun or a taser, or turns on vehicle lights.