Georgia Bibb County seeks funding for 100 police body cameras

In Georgia, the conversation about body cameras started long time ago with the public safety officials and the lawmakers agreeing that cameras can protect both the law enforcement officers and the civilians. The only issue is how to pay for them, which is what Georgia's Bibb County is now trying to figure out.

The Bibb County Sheriff David Davis, who serves in one of the most populated counties in the state, will seek funding for 100 cameras in his 2016 budget proposal. The 2016 budget goes into effect in July of 2015.

”I think they are a valuable tool to bring clarity to an incident, Davis said. ”Before we do that, we’ve got to look at having a good sound policy in place.

The cameras can be quite expensive. One manufacturer, Wolfcom, sells them for anywhere from $200 to $475 a piece without software and server setup.  The Atlanta Joual-Constitution found that body and dash cameras could cost Georgia police departments as much as $125 million combined over the next three years.

The cameras can record video and take still photos in daytime as well as nighttime and lowlight situations.  The waterproof devices also record audio, serve as GPS devices, and can be used as in-car cameras.  

Some Georgia cities and counties already use body cameras, including cities like Powder Springs, Gainesville, Jefferson City, Canton, and Brunswick as well as counties Cherokee, Hall, and Twiggs, among others.

Some Georgia Democratic lawmakers are considering a bill that would make it mandatory for all state police departments to use the body cams.  This kind of legislation would probably not pass the Republican General Assembly, but most police departments are considering it for their own protection.

Several cities across the country, including Atlanta, hosted multiple protests in recent weeks and days in the wake of grand jury decisions in Missouri and New York to not indict white police officers who killed two unarmed black men, Michael Brown and Eric Gaer. In Ferguson, Missouri, it is rather unclear what actually occurred between the officer and Brown because there were no cameras around, and witnesses provided inconsistent testimony. The New York case was captured on camera which shows Gaer repeatedly waing the police officers that he's having problems breathing. It's still unclear as to why the New York grand jury decided against an indictment.