Local News

Bend Police Plan For Dash-Cams

BEND, OR -- Bend City Council has approved a contract for a fleet of police dash cams. Sheila Miller, with Bend Police, says this is the second phase of the body-cam project launched last year, and will provide two points of view in a patrol car, "So, forward facing out of a windshield, and then there’s also a camera pointing into the backseat. So, for when we have someone detained, there will be a camera pointed on those people, as well."

Miller tells KBND News the rear-facing camera will show how a suspect is treated, "Did they get put in properly, were they seatbelted correctly, are they screaming and yelling at the officer and spitting at the divider? It provides accountability for our officers, that what we say happened, is what happened. But it also provides accountability for the people that we interact with." And, she says, they'll provide a more stable perspective of an incident than body-worn cameras. "For example, it’s really useful in traffic because if you see someone run a red light, you have that on camera. If you’re trying to document somebody who is weaving or swerving, maybe driving drunk, that’s another example. If you pull up to a fight in progress, it’s going to capture that. If you’re doing field sobriety tests on somebody in front of your vehicle, it’s going to capture that."

The five-year, $679,500 contract is for purchase and installation of the dash cameras, as well as software and storage of the footage. Miller expects it’ll take about a year to outfit every vehicle. 

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