Georgia House Bill 32, which would have required police officers to wear body cameras at all times while on duty, didn’t manage to make it out of committee this session. Some police forces though, are equipping themselves with the devices anyway.
Introduced by State Rep. Billy Mitchell of Stone Mountain, HB 32 only had three Democratic sponsors and never really stood much of a chance of passing. In a state where a debate over a ‘don’t run from the police’ billboard campaign has gained a great deal of traction, that’s not much of a surprise.
The Cartersville Police, though, have decided to order and wear body cameras on their own, joining a number of other local departments who have taken the measure to protect both themselves and the citizens they serve.
Said Cartersville Police Chief Thomas Culpepper, “It becomes another tool to be used in protecting our citizens and fighting crime. It is also important that we provide all the reasonable resources to enable Officers to clearly explain their actions. A recording is one of the best ways to defeat false accusations and verify complaints.” The cameras cost around $50,000, and were paid for entirely by drug forfeiture funds.
The Cartersville department joins its peers in Griffin and Columbus, among others, as police who look to better provide safety for themselves and for a community that has become increasingly leery of police violence following a recent rash of incidents across the country. Georgia has thus far managed to avoid some of the violence that has sprung from incidents like those in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland, much to the relief of local officers and business owners. With forward thinking police departments like the one in Cartersville taking preemptive measures to secure themselves and their citizens, hopefully we will continue to keep our interactions with officers safe and transparent.
