Indianapolis police aim for August start for body cameras

Indianapolis police hope to begin outfitting patrol officers with body cameras by early August under a contract the department recently signed to lease the cameras, the city’s police chief said.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is still working, however, to determine a process for releasing the footage those cameras will record, Chief Randal Taylor told the City-County Council’s public safety committee on Wednesday.

“The goal is obviously to make it as transparent as possible and get that information out as quickly as we can. But there will be some parameters there,” Taylor told the committee, citing footage involving potential criminal cases.

The department is aiming to begin outfitting officers with body cameras by the first week of August, starting with officers in the department’s East District, The Indianapolis Star reported.

Police officials will post a draft policy on its website in the coming days that reviews how officers will wear and use the cameras and who is qualified to get copies of recordings.

The department’s lack of body cameras was highlighted in May after officers fatally shot two black men, sparking protests. Those shootings were not recorded by any police camera because the department has no such cameras in place.

Earlier this month, the department announced that officials had signed a $9.2 million contract with Utility under which that company will equip 1,100 patrol officers with leased body cameras. That contact includes cloud-based video storage.

IMPD spokeswoman Aliya Wishner said training for the cameras will be conducted while the equipment is installed in each officer’s patrol car.