PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (WCAX) – Plattsburgh Police will soon have a second pair of eyes while on patrol. The department is gearing up to roll out body cameras for all of its officers.
Plattsburgh Police Chief Peter Mitchell says the new cameras were purchased through a $100,000 state grant last summer. Up until now, the department has only had cruiser dash cameras.
“It’s good for transparency, it’s good for our reputation. It gives us a level of trust with the community,” Mitchell said. He says they will have 23 cameras that will be rotated out between officers on a daily basis. “The patrol officers will have them, they will have to share them. There is enough that it will not… they will not have to use them all at the same time, so they will have time to recharge.”
The department now joins other local law enforcement agencies, including the Saranac Lake Police, who have adopted the technology. Chief Darin Perrotte says over the last three years the cameras have proven to be a critical, especially during a 2022 officer-involved shooting investigation. “To have that footage available to the Attorney General’s office, the State Police, and other entities we worked with in the investigation of that was exponential,” he said
His tip for police in Plattsburgh is to have a plan in place on how to store the video evidence. “Planning is crucial because like I said, you will be inundated with an extreme amount of new evidence,” Perrotte said.
Chief Mitchell says his officers still need training before the body cameras hit the streets later this summer.