Colorado Springs Police still working to get body cams on streets

After 18 months, Colorado Springs Police are still working to iron out a plan to get body worn cameras on the streets.

“We’re anxious to start to see something to come to fruition with all our efforts,” explained Commander Pat Rigdon, with the Colorado Springs Police Department.

But when it comes to getting the cameras, the department has hit a temporary snag.

CSPD is trying to iron out a contract with an unnamed vendor, but Rigdon says they won’t sign on the line until it’s right for the department.

“This is not a small venture. It has potentially over a million dollars attached to it, so we want to make sure it’s correct so we know where we stand and the company knows where they stand. And what we’re getting for our money is absolutely the best value,” Rigdon explained.

The negotiation has pushed the initial rollout from April, as projected before, to June.

They’ll be testing them on Gold Hill Division officers for 30-35 days as a trial phase first.

Then, the department expects to get all 475 cameras on officers by October.

Rigdon says it’s all a process.

“I will say that I’m not naive that we’re not going to have bumps in the road… I’m sure we’ll find a few things that we need to change, whether that be policy or procedures with the cameras themselves… but hopefully that’s what we can figure out during the trial period,” Rigdon added.