The Board of Estimates approved close to $200,000 to equip prisoner transport wagons with cameras. The goal is the erase yet one more blind spot for both police and the community.
During the trial of Officer William Porter last year, the public learned that some police wagons already have cameras, but the camera in the van that carried Freddie Gray was broken at the time of the infamous transport. None of the existing camera systems are set up to record footage, but simply monitor.
With a vote Wednesday morning, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said that will change for the better.
"I think it will be helpful to have a better understanding in the department," Rawlings-Blake said. "To have a better understanding in the public of the procedures for transporting suspects as well as the conditions."
It will cost the city $187,000 to outfit 23 of the Baltimore Police Department's transport wagons. The system will only record video and not audio.
Still, the mayor feels this eliminates a blind spot for both the department and the community.
"I think any time you are able to shine a light on it, it leads to better understanding across the board and that is what we are hoping," she said. "Better understanding and better accountability."
That doesn't stop with just the vans. Last month, the city announced a deal with the company Taser to outfit its officers with body warn cameras.
While the final price is still being negotiated, that contract will most likely be presented to the Board of Estimates next month. The mayor's office and BPD warn that it may be spring before the body worn cameras are functional.
BPD is also working on its final policy surrounding body worn cameras and setting up the infrastructure in each district to handle the recordings.
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