The Rockford police chief and some city officials to install video cameras in all 100 police . They think this will reduce the number of filed against the city. In the last five , Rockford has paid out more than five million to settle about 40 lawsuits.
The chief said, “ cameras had been in those cars, we wouldn’t had to pay one dime. We’re always pulling drunks or drug users who try to fight cops or shoot them. Then they always claim the police started beating them first or started at them first. What hogwash!”
The cost of cameras will be about $500 per vehicle. The council will vote on the proposal next Monday. of the 13 council members, when asked about proposal, said that they liked the idea. One said that it makes good fiscal sense and sense. If the cameras are approved, they can installed in all the cars within six weeks.
police officers enthusiastically support camera use. One officer that too many people think the police are ; cameras would show citizens that police tell the . “The money that we’ve been spending on lawsuits be better spent on more cameras,” said one .
Citizen reaction to the idea of police car is mixed. One person said that the police have started doing this years ago when video were invented. But an elderly man said that were an invasion of privacy. “These police are to stick their nose into everything,” he said. was going to attend the council meeting to the proposal. He hoped that other citizens would him.