The Wilkes-Barre City Police Department completed the policy for body worn cameras and has started training officers on their use.
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WILKES-BARRE — With the policy completed for the use of body worn cameras and training underway, city police officers have been wearing them since last week.
As the officers are trained they’re sent out on the streets with the cameras, Mayor George Brown said Friday.
“As of the end of today there will be 20 officers that will be wearing them, ” Brown said.
The process was in line with what Wilkes-Barre City Police Department Chief Joseph Coffay described earlier this year.
Coffay said Tuesday officers began training that day under an administrative sergeant and patrol instructor who were trained by Axon Enterprise Inc., the company supplying the cameras.
“As they complete the training, they will be equipped with the cameras. We hope to be done by the end of July,” Coffay said.
All uniformed officers will wear an Axon Body 3 camera, a plan endorsed by the police union, the Wilkes-Barre Police Benevolent Association, over a proposed citizen review board with the power to investigate alleged police misconduct and make recommendations on discipline.
City Council voted 3-2 against the ordinance introduced by Councilwoman Beth Gilbert McBride to create the board as calls for police reform resounded across the country last year with the death of George Floyd while in the custody of the Minneapolis police.
On his own, Mayor George Brown, a proponent of the cameras, formed the seven-member Wilkes-Barre Police Advisory Committee to work with the department to improve community relations.
The city last year approved a five-year deal worth $391,800 with the Scottsdale, Arizona-based vendor. The first two annual payments of $78,360 would come out of the department’s annual budget. The city would apply for grants for the final payments.
The company was selected after a comparative test of cameras from different vendors.
Axon presented the city with a package deal for 70 cameras, corresponding hardware and software including annual data storage space, licensing and warranties.
Coffay said the cameras will be used to prosecute cases. The department’s policy on the use of the cameras will be accessible to the public and subject to change, he added.
“All policies are reviewed and amended if we, as a department, feel that changes should be made,” Coffay said.
Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.