The Wichita Police Department has been issuing new body cameras to all commissioned officers, and most officers have now received them.
Police Captain Aaron Moses said officers will have a choice between a head-mounted and a body-mounted camera. He said the new cameras have a wider angle and a clearer picture along with better audio. There has been automatic activation of the camera when a taser is deployed, and Moses said the next steps will be to have automatic activation when the light bar is activated on a patrol car or when a firearm is pulled from its holster. Supervisors will be able to livestream video from officers in the field in certain situations.
Moses said every commissioned officer will get a body-worn camera. After all field services employees have received cameras, the investigations employees will get cameras and eventually the police chief will get a camera as well.