By Associated Press
Montgomery, AL – Mongtomery police want cameras mounted on stun weapons to record what happens when one of the weapons is used during an arrest.
Montgomery City Councilman Willie Cook said he thinks the cameras will protect officers and reduce negative perceptions of police tactics. The City Council public safety committee is set to meet tomorrow to discuss the issue.
W-D Foster of the Birmingham Police Department said Birmingham officers were Reluctant to use the cameras at first, but have found them helpful and use them regularly.
Foster said the Taser cameras cost 400-dollars and can record audio and video whenever the weapon is used. Officers then review the recording by downloading it to a computer.
There have been three stun weapon-related deaths in the Montgomery area in the past 10 months - Perry Simmons, Eddie Charles Ham Junior and Eugene Donjuall Gilliam. Autopsy results showed Simmons died of a drug overdose. Results for Gilliam and Ham have yet to be released, the Advertiser said.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)