Sept. 23--ADAMS -- Officers in the village's Police Department are the first in the county to receive a new tool that can act as a digital witness during police stops: a wearable camera system that can record audio and high-definition video.
Jefferson County's DWI fund paid for the $900 Taser AXON Flex On-Officer video system. The department received the glasses Sept. 14 and they are already in use.
Chief James M. Thomas said the cameras, which come with a pair of glasses but can be attached to an officer's uniform, are a complement to stationary cameras in police cars.
"The car gives you just one view," Mr. Thomas said. "This gives you a 360 view of whatever you look at."
In disputes about how police act during an arrest, Mr. Thomas said, the glasses can serve as another view of what happened.
"Basically it puts a third person there," he said.
Mr. Thomas said the video camera can be used at any time because the camera has night vision capabilities. Recordings are sent to the Taser company in case the department deletes footage.
Copyright 2012 - Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
