WEST CHESTER TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- West Chester police officers will soon be sporting body cameras, thanks to a Tuesday night vote of approval from the township's board of trustees.
Township trustees passed a motion to buy 50 body cameras and a five-year maintenance agreement with Axon Enterprises, Inc. at a cost of no more than $151,999.05, according to the board's agenda.
Across the county line, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office started testing body cams in 2015 in Lincoln Heights before earning a $125,000 federal grant to cover the first year of use.
The Cincinnati Police Department started issuing body cameras in August 2016, delivering 700 to officers by the year's end.
Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil was originally hesitant to commit to the program, citing the storage, maintenance and training costs associated with adopting body cameras.
The well-publicized case against ex-University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing heavily relied on body camera footage, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said. Tensing was charged with murder for a fatal traffic stop shooting in 2015; the shootings and moments leading up to it were caught on Tensing's issued body camera.
