The City of Morehead is exploring options to outfit its police department with body cams.
Officials began discussing possibilities over a year ago, with Council eventually passing resolutions to apply for grants as a means to acquire the equipment. One of those grants was approved, totaling around $25,000. Morehead Police Chief Derrick Blevins spoke at a special called City Council meeting conducted via ZOOM yesterday saying there was now much more to consider moving forward. Blevins explained there are different tiers of service for these systems in terms of cost, quality of equipment and evidence storage, with some options coming with an annual cost of $75,000. There is also the decision of doing a lease-style purchase, or buying the equipment outright.
Councilmember Beth Ousley is a retired Lieutenant with the Kentucky State Police. She says there were many times throughout her career she wished that technology was made available.
Councilmembers Glen Teager and Jim Tom Trent echoed those thoughts. Here they are speaking with Mayor Laura White-Brown.
Chief Blevins says the costs he presented included the purchase of 24 body cams. To move forward with processing the grant, the City was required to adopt a policy regarding body warn cameras. The one presented was modeled from the Kentucky League of Cities, which Council voted unanimously to adopt.