D.C. Council is set to vote Tuesday on an amendment calling for Mayor Muriel Bowser to add funds to the 2016 budget to make the footage viewable to the public. News4’s Jackie Bensen reports.
Metropolitan Police Department officers are set to wear body cameras, but remaining questions on funding for the program and who should be able to access the footage could cause delays.
D.C. Council is set to vote Tuesday on an amendment calling for Mayor Muriel Bowser to add funds to the 2016 budget to make the footage viewable to the public. The cost of doing so has been estimated at $1.5 million per year, officials said.
If the funds are not added to the budget set to go into effect in October, the usage of the cameras could be delayed.
There was no word Monday night from Bowser or D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier, both of whom have indicated reluctance to make body camera video footage widely available.
In October, officers began testing the cameras.
"This gives us that independent, unbiased witness that will help us kind of sort through what is normal in a police investigation -- a variety of different opinions from a variety of people," Lanier said in the fall.
