Smile! Cedar Park Police are Now Carrying Cameras

If you’re interacting with the Cedar Park police, you’re on camera.

Every single sworn police officer is now equipped with an L3 mobile-vision body camera, the police announced Friday.

The body cameras will sync with the department’s in-car camera system and allow officers to take still photos and videos while responding to emergency calls or while on patrol. Any images or video captured by an officer can then be downloaded for up to 90 days, unless it contains evidence. In that case, the evidentiary video would be retained as long as necessary.

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Body-worn cameras became a source of national discussion after the August 2014 shooting of Michael Brown, and the resulting confusion over what actually occurred that day. Cameras have been offered as a solution to increase police transparency and President Obama created a $75 million federal program to invest in body-worn cameras for law enforcement agencies.

The Cedar Park Police Department has been working to get the force fully equipped with body-worn cameras for years, according to a department press release. Sean Mannix, the police chief, has extensive experience with body cameras, serving on the state committee to create a body-camera training program.

Mannix offered a statement.

“I believe we owe it to the public and to law enforcement to document incidents using the technology available. Body cameras bring accountability to everyone involved in an encounter whether it be an everyday traffic stop or a more serious incident that requires use of force. These body cameras give us another tool to verify information and to learn and grow based on what we see both from our officers and the public.”