ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla — Body cameras have arrived in St. Augustine and police officers will start using them in December.
For years, St. Augustine Police Chief Barry Fox wasn’t keen on the price of body cameras for his force. But he knew, "it wasn't 'if' we go to body cameras. It was 'when.'"
He told First Coast News that the "when" came this summer "when we started dealing with the protests."
Those protests mainly regarded the confederate memorials in town. Fox said the community wanted the cameras.
"And it wasn’t in reference to anything we had done," he said. "It was because they were seeing what the officers were going through at those protests."
Some protesters taunted and threatened officers.
While there was some demand in St. Augustine for cameras because of the George Floyd incident, the chief says most people wanted them in order to protect the officers.
Fox said one day this summer, "I found myself telling my officers, 'Listen, if these guys start acting up, pull your phone out and video them.' And I went, 'Oh!' It was that ah-ha moment. They’re right. The community is right. It’s time to go to body cameras. They wanted us to go to body cameras to protect the officers."
And so the city commission okayed the purchase.
For the police department, the body cameras cost $1.55 million, and the city as a 10-year contract with the camera company.
"It’s not a cheap product. It’s an investment. And the taxpayers were comfortable with it," Fox said.
He added, "It will greatly enhance the transparency of the calls. And in some situations, it's going to give us the ability to show how other people we interact with ... act."