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Chicago Police Body Cameras Coming Within 60 Days, Garry McCarthy Says

By Tanveer Ali | December 1, 2014 11:19am | Updated on December 3, 2014 8:26am
 Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Debra Domino wears one of the new "body-worn cameras" that the city's officers will begin using.
Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Debra Domino wears one of the new "body-worn cameras" that the city's officers will begin using.
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Getty Images/Win McNamee

BRONZEVILLE — Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy on Monday said a pilot program to put body cameras on Chicago Police officers will launch within the next 60 days.

McCarthy updated the status of the program Monday while discussing crime statistics and a series of national protests linked to the decision not to indict a police officer in the summer shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.

The top cop said that the pilot will start with officers who have volunteered for the program.

Tanveer Ali describes the pilot program:

The number of officers participating and where the pilot will start is currently unknown, said Police spokesman Marty Maloney.

The update on the program came as McCarthy noted that with one month left in 2014, crime statistics were "trending in a positive direction."

In addition to lower homicide and overall crime rates, McCarthy said that there has been a 17 percent drop in complaints filed against police over the last two years. He attributes this to better communication with community members.

"In a post-Ferguson world, those are relevant statistics. Those are relevant issues," McCarthy said.

The superintendent acknowledged that the events in Ferguson, in which an unarmed black man was shot by a police officer who a grand jury decided not to convict, have been on his mind recently.

"This is something that's not new. This has been something for at least the 34 years I've been policing," McCarthy said about how some shootings cause outrage.

"This has been a narrative that has been going on for a long time," McCarthy added. "I think at some point there has to be an honest discussion."

There has been a national push to outfit police officers with body cameras since the incident in Missouri. Chicago Police said they were considering such a program in September, after the Ferguson shooting.

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