Taser (yes, the people who brought you Tasers) has unveiled a new high-tech camera that’s seemingly straight out of a spy movie — and ithey’ll soon be at use in the Bay Area, if BART police has their way.
According to Taser, the “point of view video” camera known as “Axon Flex” allows police to record their interactions with the public and will (among other things) “reduce false complaints and lawsuits by accurately capturing video from the officer’s perspective” when worn by police officers on their sunglasses, ball cap, collar, helmet, or more.
The camera footage is then transferred to the independent, cloud-based evidence.com.
According to CBS5, BART police department have purchased 160 of the collar mounted version of these cameras, “although officers can buy the own sunglasses if they want.”
The Ex reports that the cameras will cost BART $141,000, paid for with a federal grant.
“The camera itself is about the diameter of (a) pen. So what you would see is the camera on the collar or the sunglass mount,” BART Police Deputy Chief Ben Fairow told CBS5.
According to information on the Taser site, officers must remember to manually turn on the cameras before they enter a conflict situation. BART will have to set policy for when the cameras should be used, a BART police spokesperson told the Ex.
Officers will then be trained to use the cameras, making it months before the cameras will be implemented.
According to the Taser site, “agencies deploying POV video report dramatic decreases in complaints – many report 100% decrease in claims.”
The cameras also “improve behavior of all parties during police interactions,” Taser claims.
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