OKC Police Excited To Test Out Body Cam Pilot Program

They are small, compact, and attach right to the officer's uniform. With the touch of a button, officers will be able to have an extra set of eyes and ears - recording exactly what takes place when they are out in the field.

“The entire country is going towards body cameras,” said Capt. Paco Balderrama with the Oklahoma City Police Department. “It protects the officer, it protects the community, it protects the police department, it makes a lot of sense.”

For four weeks, officers have been testing out different cameras and software programs to see which ones worked best. Now they will be outfitting 150 patrol officers who work the department's second shift (4 p.m. to 2 p.m.).

Police say they think these cameras will improve transparency and public confidence.

“When we can have actual video evidence of what occurred, then there's very little ‘he said she said,’” said Balderrama. “We actually have the events as they took place.”

The year-long pilot program will give the Oklahoma City patrol officers a chance to test and evaluate the use of these cameras in real life situations. And their officers are ready to get started.

“I think it’s a great evolution for our police department,” said Officer Chris Brown, who will be one of the patrol officers wearing the body cameras. ”I think that we're heading in the right direction and I'm actually excited about the program.”

The department has already added policies and procedures and people to help manage the maintenance and digital evidence coming from the cameras.

“If and when there is an allegation it’s going to show it on the video whether it happened or not,” said Balderrama.

The Oklahoma City police department has invested $170,000 into the pilot program.

Reporter Adrianna Iwasinski is following this story.