Brighton City Council approves body cams for city police

BRIGHTON — Officers with the Brighton Police Department will receive body cameras after city council approved a resolution Tuesday, Aug. 27.

In a report to the council, City Manager Gretchen Gomolka said the department has considered cameras for all sworn officers for several years.

There are in-car cameras installed in all patrol vehicles and the body cameras will be purchased from the same brand, Safe Fleet, to ensure the cameras are compatible.

“In today’s climate of policing, body cameras are another essential tool to enhance investigations, reduce citizen complaint investigation time, reduce potential risk and liability for the city and the officer, and continue to hold officers accountable during interactions with the public,” Gomolka wrote in the report.

According to the report, two other brands were considered but were not chosen because of cost, incompatibility with current systems and the need to purchase additional equipment.

The Safe Fleet cameras are compatible with the current system, use cloud-based storage, can transfer video to the Livingston County Prosecutor’s Office and are compliant with Criminal Justice Information Services and Federal Information Processing Standards. The contract with Safe Fleet also includes a three-day, on-site training for staff.

The total purchase price of the five-year program is $84,910; $16,982 per year. Additionally, there is a one-time purchase of a Dell computer. Through Safe Fleet, the computer was quoted as $5,000, but the report stated that another vendor could provide the same computer for $3,900.

Subscribe: Get all your breaking news and unlimited access to our local coverage

The program will replace the department’s current system of burning DVDs. The data from the current in-car video system will be stored in Safe Fleet’s cloud system with the body cam data.

According to the report, the program is expected to “streamline” the redaction process for Freedom of Information Act requests.

The report cited several reasons for the program including enhanced accountability and transparency, evidence collection, improved behavior of officers and citizens, community relations, reduced litigation cost, training, protection for officers, the department and citizens.

— Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@livingstondaily.com.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Brighton police to receive body cameras