NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - The Metro Nashville Police Department is getting a full deployment of body cameras.
Mayor John Cooper said the deployment will begin in July with the West Precinct. There will be 86 body-worn cameras and 65 patrol cars outfitted during the initial process.
Motorola was selected as the vendor for the in-car and body-worn cameras.
An initial report from the mayor's office stated the cameras would cost Nashville taxpayers approximately $40 million dollars a year. However, the mayor's office is working with the US Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance to bring the coast down to $2.1 million.
The city at first thought they would need to bring in an additional 200 people, but will now only need 16.
"After evaluation, we brought in the bureau of justice, they reviewed our program and their estimate was much lower. We are going with their recommendation," Captain Blaine Whited with Metro Nashville Police Department said.
Cooper said he has wanted body cameras for the department since taking office a year ago.
“Body-worn cameras will promote trust between law enforcement officers and the communities they are sworn to serve,” Cooper said in a statement on Monday. “They will be an important tool in addressing racial injustice throughout Davidson County. Since campaigning for office, I have supported body-worn cameras in Nashville and the need to invest in this vital technology the right way. We are delivering on that commitment today, and we are doing it in a cost responsible way.”
District Attorney General Glenn Funk said the body cameras "will promote trust and accountability for law-enforcement and the people of Nashville."
“An encounter with law enforcement is not something that any Nashvillian should worry about having to survive,” Council Member At-Large Sharon Hurt said in a statement on Monday.
“It’s no secret that Metro’s financial constraints are great, but Mayor Cooper has demonstrated through this effort, with IT infrastructure upgrades starting immediately and deployment rolling out in July, as a first step, that his commitment to create tangible change for our Black community is genuine.”
The mayor's office said IT infrastructure upgrades are necessary to support body-worn cameras deployment at the seven additional precincts.
The Metro Nashville Police Department will give monthly updates on the state of the IT infrastructure upgrades.
“This deployment will provide unprecedented clarity into how the police and residents interact,” Cooper said. “I want to thank General Funk, Public Defender Johnson, and all of our criminal justice stakeholders for coming together around a plan that will make bodycams a success in Nashville. The wait for body cams is over. Let me be clear: We are moving forward with full deployment as quickly as possible.”
On June 08, 2020 Mayor John Cooper announced full deployment of body cameras for the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD). This announcement comes in the wake of protests around the country and the world, amidst a battle against COVID-19 that has increased surveillance on Black and brown folks, and on the poor, and not to mention while a campaign is underway by The Nashville’s People’s Budget, which looks to defund police and invest in communities.
We have supported the families of Jocques Clemmons and Daniel Hambrick as they have fought hard for body cameras for these past few years.The city has consistently found excuses to halt this deployment. We have and will continue to support the Clemmons and Hamrick families in their fight for justice.
Black Lives Matter Nashville is clear on our position regarding body cameras.
The presence of a body camera does not eradicate the risk of police misconduct or the use of deadly force, especially toward Black and brown people.We reject the increased surveillance by the state on our people and in our communities. We reject further money being allocated to MNPD. We reject performative expressions without any real intent to increase actual public safety and investment into our neighborhoods.
As an abolitionist organization, we continue to look forward to the day when public safety has a new meaning. One that is centered around our communities having their housing needs met, their healthy food needs met, their employment and wage needs met, their infrastructure needs met, their education needs met, and so much more.
We are fighting daily for a new world, a world that values and affirms Black and brown people, and sees them as indispensable to the fabric of our world.
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