City to consider dash cameras for Akron Police vehicles
Akron may add dashboard cameras to its police vehicles.
Axon, a publicly traded company that currently supplies the city's body-worn cameras, presented an overview of the cameras at a special Akron City Council meeting Monday. Council is expected to consider a measure later this month that would bring the cameras to the city's police cruisers.
The department's vehicles do not currently have dashboard cameras, an absence that recently came under fire during a June police chase that ended with a fatal police shooting of 25-year-old Jayland Walker.
Though body cam footage from officers on the scene of Walker's death was released — including those who were involved in the chase — some activists and elected officials argued that cameras within the vehicle would've been useful to better assess the incident, as well as provide greater transparency and trust-building between police and the community.
This is one of several police reform initiatives being explored.
Axon's presentation and demo came before Council as Akron looks to allocate funds in the 2023 capital budget, a city spokesperson said.
Aside from the cameras themselves, the heftiest investment will likely go toward storage and staffing for public records requests.
According to the city, records requests for body camera footage is up 30 to 40% in the past year, slowing response times.
So far, the city said, there have been requests for about 2,000 hours of footage. One employee can process about 2,080 hours a year without any days off.
As for storage, Axon said its cameras are capable of holding up to 250 hours before being uploaded to its online storage hub. A representative said there is no way to store footage other than through the company-owned technology.
Because both the department's body cameras and dash cameras would be supplied by the same company, Axon said both could be activated simultaneously.
Reporter Abbey Marshall is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Learn more at reportforamerica.org. Contact her at amarshall1@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: City to consider dash cameras for Akron Police vehicles
