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Memphis the first big city in Tennessee to use police body cameras

cityofmemphis.org

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Memphis Police Department is issuing body cameras to its officers, with a goal of giving the equipment to 2,000 officers by the end of the year.

Police Director Toney Armstrong says the department has already received about 500 cameras from the vendor. He says about 50 officers are being trained to use the cameras every day. Armstrong believes the cameras will provide more transparency to police operations.

Armstrong says 500 officers cameras should be equipped with the cameras by early October, with a total of 2,000 deployed by the end of the year. The department currently has just over 2,100 officers on the force.

The camera vendor, Taser, says it’s one of the most aggressive rollouts of its body cameras among the police departments it serves.

The Nashville and Chattanooga Police Departments say they are studying the use of body cameras. Knoxville Police say they have no plans to implement the technology.