Body Cameras Considered By St. Petersburg Police: Chief Holloway

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Body cameras for officers could be coming to the St. Petersburg Police Department later this year. On June 2, several officers met at St. Petersburg Police Training Center and learned about the different features of the body cam technology provided by Body Worn.

The topic of body cameras for police has been a topic discussed since the recent death of Minnesota man George Floyd. Chief Anthony Holloway said that he had been considering body cameras since two years ago.

"What really brought me to this is when they showed the officer down feature, I was sold on that because that's what keeps me up at night," said Holloway. "The community and the men and women that work for me. So I can rest assure that when they're wearing this, it's almost like a blanket so I know if they're down, I know that someone is going to come help them."

The body camera they are currently considering looks like a cell phone, and it's worn in a pocket in the front of the uniform. If officers pull their weapon or taser, the cameras automatically begin recording. Holloway said the camera will be able to go back and record prior to the officer pulling out their gun, and they will set that prior record time to one minute. (Chief Holloway gives an example in the below video.)

The second way it is activated is if the officer has contact with someone. Officers can activate the recording by pressing a button that looks like a watch worn around their wrists. To stop the recording when it is activated in this manner, an officer would have to press the watch button three times to turn it off.

What Holloway said is the most important feature about this body cam is if an officer is in a physically awkward position such as shot down, then it will notify all officers within the area that an officer is in trouble, and it will provide a geographic location.

An instructor who works for Body Worn showed an example of how it activates when an officer is down, during a June 2 news conference at the St. Petersburg Police Training Center. An officer went outside with the body camera and put himself in an awkward physical position, and the electronic equipment that it was connected to inside the training room, which appeared to be a police laptop, said: "Officer Daniel Diaz down, Officer Daniel Diaz down," as it displayed his geographic location on the computer.

Holloway said that he and Mayor Rick Kriseman are scheduled to have a budget meeting in October for the body cameras as they are expected to cost several million dollars. Other factors to consider during the decision process for the purchase of these body cameras are input from the community, policy revisions and several officers who will test out the body camera equipment as they wear it under their uniform for testing purposes during the next several weeks. Holloway will also be testing it out during the same time period.

The reason behind his decision for body cameras is that he wants for police to be safe and get help fast in case an officer is down or in a situation that calls for quick backup.