Belleville Police are touting the success of body cameras.
At the Police Services Board meeting at Belleville City Hall on Friday, Belleville Police Chief Mike Callaghan says body cameras helped in one instance regarding a foot chase following a break and enter.
Police say they were responding to a break and enter in progress around 2:30 a.m. in the east end of the city.
When police arrived, a foot chase ensued between an officer and a suspect.
The officer was able to apprehend the suspect after a lengthy chase involving jumping over backyard fences, running down alleyways and running over shrubs. The officer was unaware of their exact location but police say thanks to body cameras, the patrol supervisor was able to activate their Axon Responder and was able to immediately identify where the officer was.
Speaking with Quinte News, Callaghan said body cameras are turning some naysayers within the force to believers.
“One of our members who was a staunch opponent to the body-worn cameras, came up to me about two and a half months ago and he said, “You know, I didn’t agree with these body-worn cameras when they came in, but I gotta tell you now you’d have to pry this out of my cold, dead hands,” said Callaghan.
Chief Callaghan also said they’ve seen complaints of police conduct go down since the implementation of body cameras.
