COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio’s capital and largest city will spend nearly $19 million on an upgraded police body-worn and in-cruiser camera system that adds multiple new features including automatic activation, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther announced Tuesday.
The system—which allows synced recordings between cruiser and body-worn cameras—will provide a look-back feature of two minutes prior to activation and a review of recordings up to 24 hours in the past. The cameras, from Scottsdale, Arizona-based Axon, will turn on whenever officers pull their weapons, turn on lights and sirens, or speed up significantly, among other scenarios.
The cameras will provide a thorough and objective assessment “when events unfold at lightning speed—sometimes in the midst of great chaos and confusion,” Ginther said.
Training and deployment of 2,105 body-worn cameras and 450 in-car cameras begins in June and will conclude by April 2023.
Ginther in 2016 implemented body-worn police cameras in Columbus for the first time.
In December 2020, the look-back feature on an officer’s camera provided a 60-second glimpse of the Columbus police shooting of Andre Hill, but without audio. The new two-minute look-back feature will include video and audio.
