Eugene police officers to wear body cameras daily

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - Police officers in Eugene will be required to wear body cameras with their uniforms as of Thursday.

Officer Sean Dillon told The Register-Guard (https://bit.ly/2sG0eR3) Wednesday that the equipment will make the Eugene Police Department more transparent and hold their roughly 150 officers more accountable. Officers will be expected to wear the cameras daily.

Dillion says detectives will have access to the cameras, but will not be obligated to wear them since they typically wear street clothes while on duty.

A Eugene police spokeswoman says the equipment was purchased with the help of two $249,000 grants from the U.S. Department of Justice and the city of Eugene.

The department began using body cameras since the creation of a pilot project in 2013. During the program, only 18 officers wore the equipment.

___

Information from: The Register-Guard, https://www.registerguard.com