Body Cameras Approved For Sandy Springs Police

SANDY SPRINGS, GA -- The Sandy Springs Police Department is inching closer to rolling out body cameras for its officers.

The City Council at its March 21 meeting unanimously approved awarding a contract to TASER International to provide the equipment, accessories and services necessary to deploy the cameras for use.

TASER was one of five companies that responded to the city's requests for proposals issued back in September. The other four were Citadel, Motorola Solutions, Utility Associates and Digital Alley.

An evaluation committee reviewed the companies' proposals, and decided to move forward to test the equipment submitted by three of the companies: Motorola, TASER and Utility Associates.

A small group of officers testing the equipment met with evaluation committee to review the results of the trial period. The committee reviewed costs, storage capacity, user friendliness and other back-end items to determine which company to recommend for the contract.

Deputy Police Chief Keith Zgonc said the cameras and equipment from TASER are not only easy to use, but were also a breeze for officers to set up and explore.

TASER offered its proposal at $179,215, and the city budgeted $200,000 for the equipment. Once those up-front costs are paid for, Zgonc told city leaders the ongoing costs could be right around $62,000 for 70 officers who will be sporting the devices.

On a related topic, the police department is working with the city's legal team on drafting a policy that will spell out guidelines for the cameras' use, storage, and handling sensitive material recorded on the devices.

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