Tampa Body Cams Show Realities of Policing

The Tampa Police Department is wrapping up a study with the University of South Florida in which 60 officers were outfitted with body cameras and evaluated for a year.

On Thursday, the department made some of that footage available to give the public a sense of what officers encounter on the job every day.

Officials said that when the public sees body camera footage in the news, it's often involving an incident perceived as negative.

"Those are isolated, rare incidents that don't really capture the majority of officers and what we deal with on a daily basis," the department said in a statement.

The videos show both sides of the job -- from encounters with violent suspects, a daring water rescue and helping the disabled.

"As police officers, we see people at their best, but more often, at their worst. This is the community’s first look at what a police officer’s job is really like – it’s kind of like riding shotgun with an officer," officials said.

The department hopes that the video will help spread a positive message to citizens and give them a real look into the day in the life of a police officer.

"We don’t think the average citizen has any idea what officers go through out here. It isn't what you see on TV, that's for sure," the statement reads. "We are glad we are able to share this with our community so they can get some perspective."