VICKSBURG — Vicksburg police officers will soon start using body cameras in the line of duty.
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen accepted a policy and procedure on the use of body cameras during its meeting Tuesday, the Vicksburg Post reported.
Officers will go through training over the next few weeks before they start using the equipment. City information technology director Billy Gordon said the police department will likely start by using 10 cameras at a time while officers are trained.
“We’ve got to train the guys and make sure the video is downloading properly,” he said. “We don’t want to put all of them out there and then there be a problem.”
Police chief Walter Armstrong said every uniformed officer will be issued a camera once they are trained. Non-uniformed officers such as investigators will use the cameras on a limited basis, however.
“We want to go over every page of the policy to every officer who will be utilizing the camera before we actually start using them,” Armstrong said.
Officers will be required to turn the cameras on anytime they perform police duties, he said. They will not use cameras in places where privacy is expected.
Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said the policy was based on other cities’ policies. He said now that the legal issues have been finalized, it will be up to Armstrong to implement the policy.
The department purchased 81 body cameras for $62,980 in July.
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