Chicago police soon to wear more body cams thanks to grants

By Tony Briscoe
Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO — The Chicago Police Department expects to receive a shipment of more than 450 body cameras, which will be worn by officers in some of the most gang-plagued areas of the city in addition to the department's top brass starting this spring, city officials announced Sunday.

After being trained, officers and supervisors in seven police districts will be equipped with body cameras capable of recording 72 continuous hours of high-definition video and audio on a single charge.

The new cameras, part of a city pilot program, began in January 2015 in the Shakespeare District, which covers the Logan Square and West Town communities on the North and Northwest sides. The six new police districts, which encompass one-third of the city, cover the South Shore, Auburn-Gresham, Chatham, Washington Park, Hyde Park, Kenwood, Back of the Yards, Brighton Park, Bridgeport; Austin, North Lawndale and Little Village communities. The city is divided into 22 patrol districts.

"Body cameras are one tool that the police department uses to serve and protect the people of Chicago," interim Superintendent Eddie Johnson said in a statement. "They play an important role in not just fighting crime, but also in learning from actual encounters with the public. In addition to wearing a body camera myself, I've asked my command staff to wear one as well to demonstrate our commitment to rebuilding trust with the residents we're sworn to serve."

The department expects the new cameras to be online later this spring and rolling out to the six new districts throughout the summer as it overhauls its technology. CPD hopes to have video uploaded and stored at the end of each shift.

Johnson is expected to begin wearing a body camera while on patrol next week, and his command staff is expected to follow suit.

"With Interim Superintendent Eddie Johnson leading the police department in wearing one, body cameras represent an important step forward as the work of restoring trust and accountability in the department continues," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement Sunday. "The police department will leverage this technology to fight crime, enhance transparency, and strengthen the fabric of trust that is vital between police and the community."

The expanded body camera program follows protests over the release of a police vehicle's dashcam video that showed Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times. Van Dyke has since been charged with first-degree murder.

The program is expected to be funded with a $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice and $1.1 million in matching funds from the city. CPD also has applied for state grants to assist with camera purchases, storage, maintenance, upload stations and other program-related costs.

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