The Salisbury Police Department will soon be purchasing body cameras for officers.

During the Salisbury City Council meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, the council approved the purchase of 60 Vista HD Chest Mount Body Cameras from Watch Guard, a law enforcement video systems manufacturer.

The total cost of the cameras is $64,940. The city has received $31,200 in private donations to be used for the body cameras. An additional $33,740 will come from Asset Forfeiture and Controlled Substance Tax funds.

The council also approved appropriating the donations and asset forfeiture funds for the purchase of the cameras.

In a presentation shown to the council, Lt. Andy Efird said some of the advantages to having body cameras were the ability to show the officer’s point of view, decrease citizen complaints and build trust between officers and residents.

“We think that these cameras will definitely enhance our in-car video program that we have in place now,” Efird said.

Efird also said the body cameras will integrate with the department’s current in-car video system in terms of data storage and the body cameras have a retention time currently set for one year.

The cameras have the ability to record even if the officer does not push the record button because the camera will be always recording in the background. The root data captured by the cameras will not be able to be manipulated.

Councilman Kenny Hardin asked if a close-contact fight would affect the recording.

“If there was an altercation or some type of physical struggle, would that impede the videoing process?” Hardin asked.

Efird said a fight in which the person gets too close to the officer would lead to a blank screen. But if the altercation happened in front of the patrol car, the dash camera would still be able to record the altercation.

Mayor Pro Tem Maggie Blackwell asked about the storage of the data the body cameras will collect. Efird said the data will be stored internally, but he is also researching cloud storage as a backup.

Councilman Brian Miller asked about the cameras’ ability to capture video in low lighting.

“How does it work at night? Does it need to have a light to catch anything, or does it also work in low light conditions?” Miller asked.

Efird said the cameras do not have night vision capabilities, but they can capture video well with just streetlights or an officer’s flashlight.

The council unanimously approved the purchase and use of the donations and asset forfeiture funds to purchase the body cameras.

In other business, the council:

• approved an ordinance with the North Carolina Department of Transportation establishing 55 mph within the new mile posting of Cedar Springs Road and repealing portions of the code that were no longer valid
• appointed Whitney Wallace to the Tourism and Cultural Development Commission
• appointed council liaisons to community groups
• announced Capt. Brian Stallings as the interim police chief for the Salisbury Police Department

Contact reporter Amanda Raymond at 704-797-4222.