All Uniformed Hamden Police Officers to be Outfitted with Body Cameras

On the same day President Barack Obama called for more police officers to be outfitted with body cameras, the Legislative Council unanimously approved 39 such cameras for the Hamden Police Department Monday night.

The new cameras will bring the town’s total to 75, ensuring that all uniformed officers on the street will be suited with the technology, according to the New Haven Register.

In the wake of the protests in Ferguson, Missouri and across the nation over a grand jury’s decision not to charge the police officer who fatally shot unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown, Obama called for $75 million in federal spending to get 50,000 more police officers to wear body cameras that record their interactions with civilians.

Hamden Police Chief Thomas Wydra told the Register that the cameras will be ordered immediately and officers should have them in three to five weeks.

• Related: Unedited Video of Black Man Questioned by Michigan Police for Walking with Hands in Pocket

The cameras have been seen as a benefit to both police officers and civilians.

In a recent incident in Pontiac, Michigan, both a civilian and the police officer recorded their encounter on their cell phones and the videos have been shared thousands of times across the country. The officer questioned the African-American man who was walking down the street with his hands in his pockets on Thanksgiving day after police received a call of suspicious behavior in an area where several robberies have occurred.

Read more about the new body cameras in Hamden at the New Haven Register here.

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