Tupelo police officers to have body cameras

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) - Tupelo Police Chief Bart Aguirre wants every patrol officer to be fitted with a body camera within a year.

Aguirre tells the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (https://bit.ly/1Hk44O9 ) it will cost about $75,000 to cover K-9 handlers, the Street Crimes Unit and the Patrol Division.

The Tupelo Police Department and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office have applied for a $14,332 federal Justice Assistance Grant, which will be divided evenly, to start getting the cameras.

Aguirre says the grant won’t buy many cameras - which run about $1,000 each - but it’s a start.

Earlier this year, the police department tested cameras of one vendor. They will have about a half-dozen cameras from a second vendor next week.

Officer-involved shootings around the country have prompted police departments to look into body cameras.

___

Information from: Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, https://djournal.com