As police departments decide whether to apply for new federal funding for body cameras, officers in Mission started wearing cameras this fall.
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“Beg, borrow, however you need to fund it, these are an absolute must for today's law enforcement,” said Sgt. Kevin Self with Mission police.
All 29 officers in Mission now wear body cameras. They each can record up to 10 hours of video and audio at a time.
“What it does is allow the officer and the individual to say, 'No. That's not how it happened, let's look at the video,’” Self said.
Mission Police started using the body cameras in October, but they requested them before the riots in Ferguson following the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown.
“Had there been a camera there perhaps that would eliminate a lot of the questions. It's not a guaranteed fix, but certainly any documentation is better,” said Capt. David Moloy.
Mission Police simulate interactions to fix potential problems using the $38,000 body camera system and video archive server.
“We're still experimenting with locations on the shirts,” Moloy said.
Mission Police told 41 Action News it leaves it up to each officer to decide whether to turn off their camera for the 'safety and dignity' of a witness or victim.
“The only time we might turn it off is, if in the officer's discretion, for privacy reasons,” said Moloy.
The Mission Police Department said they plans to handle public requests for body camera videos on a case-by-case basis if the video includes victims or privacy issues.
Overall, Mission Police say they like how the body cameras keep themselves and the public honest.
“Don't say or do anything on video that you wouldn't say or do in front of your mother,” said Self.
