Pueblo police to wear body cameras by end of this year
Pueblo police officers will be trained on how to use body cameras in the coming weeks.
Deputy Chief Troy Davenport said police will be wearing those cameras by the end of the month and expects more law enforcement agencies to follow suit.
“I think that it’s a technology that will be sweeping the nation — no doubt,” Davenport said.
KRDO NewsChannel 13 asked Davenport if the public will be able to get a copy of the video recorded on the body cameras, but he said it’s unlikely.
“Access to the video will be limited,” he said. “Certainly there are times when it would make sense for us to release video but the main purpose for it is to document the events as they unfold.”
Three people have been killed by Pueblo police officers this year, most recently on Nov. 25. Law enforcement officers shot and killed Jon Jaquez, 26, of Pueblo next to a Loaf ‘N Jug on E. Fourth St. and Troy.
Davenport said body cameras will eliminate the guesswork of whether an officer acted appropriately, especially during officer-involved shootings.
“When complaints do come in, we’ll have video of the incident and if the officer violated policy in some way. Then, we’ll address that appropriately,” he said.
Last month, Deputy Chief Michael Bennett said the police department will initially pay $44,000 for the cameras from this year’s budget and will pay the remaining expense beginning in 2016, at 0 percent interest.
President Barack Obama wants Congress to authorize funding for 50,000 body cameras. Davenport said if Congress approves that funding, he plans to see if the Pueblo Police Department can get reimbursed, in part, for the cameras.
