PERRYSBURG, Ohio — In a year where all eyes have been on members of law enforcement, departments in northwest Ohio are taking steps to be more transparent. Come Monday, officers at the Perrysburg Police Division will all be wearing body cameras for the first time.
“The in-car cameras have been beneficial to us, so I wanted to give the officers another tool to be able to show what happens from their perspective when they're out in the field,” said Perrysburg Police Chief Patrick Jones.
Money for the cameras came from the city's general fund. Jones said body cameras can reveal additional angles of an intense situation, citing the recent fatal shooting of a domestic violence suspect that occurred in east Toledo last weekend.
“Obviously the body camera may not capture every little thing the officer may see, but it's there. And I think we saw with the officer-involved shooting in Toledo this last week, there's a lot of different views the officers had of that,” said Jones.
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Perrysburg is just the latest city getting body cameras for officers. Bowling Green is also looking to get them as well. If Bowling Green City Council approves next year's budget as is, it will include body cameras for officers and new in-car cameras too.
“The body cameras will be beneficial for gathering evidence and also for the police division to monitor the interactions of officers and the community,” said Lt. Dan Mancuso with the Bowling Green Police Division.
Bowling Green's 2021 city budget is up for review on Dec. 21.