San Jose police don head cameras
SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Some patrol officers in San Jose, Calif., will be wearing head-mounted cameras to record their interactions with the public, their chief says.
San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis said 18 officers will be wearing the head cameras while on patrol in a pilot project following allegations of police violence against city residents, the San Jose Mercury News reported Saturday.
The cameras will be activated by the officers prior to each encounter with a member of the public and all recordings will be transferred to a central server after the officers' shifts.
Silicon Valley De-Bug director Raj Jayadev, who has been critical of police, applauded the AXON camera project.
"The AXON project is unfortunately a positive thing right now because the level of distrust is so high," the head of the community organization told the Mercury News. "But it doesn't address the more fundamental problem: What stereotypes police may carry when they see people of color on the street and make assumptions about."
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2009/12/19/San-Jose-police-don-head-cameras/UPI-44981261253139/