Casper Police Implementing Body Cameras

Every interaction Casper police officers have with residents will soon be video-recorded.

During a press conference Wednesday morning, Casper Police Chief Keith McPheeters told reporters that the new technology will help the department better investigate incidents.

"This gives us a bird's eye view of an incident rather than having to ascertain what this looked like from a written report," McPheeters said. "This is what the officer saw and what he was experiencing."

McPheeters added every contact a Casper police officer makes with citizens will be filmed.

Casper Police Department Technologies Manager Scott Hoffman said officers will be able to categorize each contact with citizens such as felonies or DUIs.

Each Casper police car additionally is outfitted with a front and rear camera. When officers activate their emergency light bar, their vehicle's front camera will automatically tun on along with their body camera. Opening the rear cage door will automatically activate the rear camera.

If a police car exceeds 70 mph for more than five seconds, the officer's front vehicle camera and body camera will automatically turn on. Officers can also activate their cameras manually.

Command staff and supervisors will also have the ability to view police interactions in real time.

Police vehicles will also have the ability to geolocate. In the future, body cameras will also have the ability to indicate an officer's location, but Hoffman said that functionality is two or three years away.

McPheeters said the project cost the city about $1.3 million.