Grand Rapids City Commission Approves Purchase of Body Cameras for GRPD Officers

The Grand Rapids City Commission approved spending to purchase body cameras for Grand Rapids Police Tuesday.

The commissioners approved spending more than $674,000 on 200 body cameras over the next two years. A grant will pay for $78,000 of the costs of the cameras.

The cameras will be implemented in Grand Rapids by the end of the summer. Eight cameras are already being used in field tests.

In December, many community members attended a city commission meeting to voice their support for body cameras.

Cameras are beginning to be implemented across the country following incidents between police and civilians in places like Ferguson, Mo.

Grand Rapids Police will pay about $241,000 annually on the cameras after the startup.