Gurnee board OK with cameras and stun guns for cops
Gurnee Police Chief Kevin Woodside received an informal thumbs-up from the village board Monday night for a proposal to equip all officers with body-worn cameras and stun guns.
It would cost about $102,000 in the first year for 60 cameras and a corresponding number of stun guns, Woodside said in a presentation and a brief question-and-answer session with Mayor Kristina Kovarik and village trustees. Kovarik said the money for the proposal is in the village's 2016-17 budget.
Kovarik equated the cameras and conducted electrical weapons to inexpensive insurance that would protect police officers.
"It's become very common for the public to film everything," Kovarik said. "And that can edited or misconstrued or not the right angle. We need the cameras ... for the benefit of our own officers' protection, so we have a video record of what happened from the officers' perspective."
Woodside recommended to the elected officials that the cameras and stun guns be purchased from Arizona-based Taser International. He said volunteer officers field tested eight camera systems from six companies before favoring Taser's cameras, which are manufactured under the company's Axon brand.
In June, Woodside said he wanted to take a cautious approach to enacting the body cameras. The devices are part of a five-year strategic plan for police.
"While there has been no public demand from our community or a call from village leadership for officer-worn body cameras, there is no denying that there is an increasing general expectation that police are held more accountable and operations are more transparent through the use of video."
If the camera deal with Taser is struck, Woodside said, the company would provide the stun guns at no extra cost. Gurnee is one of the few Lake County police departments not using stun guns, which he said are a proven, less-lethal option for officers.
Village board members will need to vote on the Taser contract. It's not immediately known when the proposal will return to the board.