Raleigh City Council votes to move forward with police body camera pilot study
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- The Raleigh City Council voted Tuesday to move forward with a police body camera pilot study.
Discussion on the issue was scheduled to take place last month, but it was postponed when a Raleigh police officer was involved in a fatal shooting.
Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown made the same presentation she was supposed to on Feb. 29, but the officer-involved shooting changed the atmosphere for the presentation as well as increased the urgency of the need for the cameras.
The chief couldn't say whether a body camera would have made a difference in the investigation of the shooting of Akiel Denkins, but she told city councilors that the cameras weren't the end-all or be-all.
She also talked about the expense of the pilot program which could cost more that $5 million dollars over five years, much of that for data storage.
Deck-Brown says she believes it's worth it. "This is the evolution of technology in terms of where we as a law enforcement community have gone. So instead of asking 'why' or 'why now', I would ask, 'Why not now?'"
