Body cameras already paying dividends for Washington police

“They’re on the street right now,” police Chief Daniel Rush told City Council Thursday, adding that by the end of the night, three shifts would have used the cameras. “We’ve gotten really good feedback so far. We already had one complaint that we were able to completely quash with the body camera footage.”

If council decides to purchase the cameras, the police department will probably have them by the first quarter of 2023.

“This is something we’ve been looking at for a number of years and finally had the opportunity to get,” said Mayor Scott Putnam. “I think it’s a good initiative by our force.”

Rush said the price is “$15,000 upfront and $13,000 a year for the next four years after that.”

Rush also discussed the status of the department’s vehicles, describing one of the Tauruses as “completely done.”

“I’m taking parts off of it to put on the other Tauruses to keep them on the road,” the police chief said. “At some point, we’re going to need to scrap that car. The repairs to the transmission (would cost) exponentially more than the car is worth.”

Two of other three Tauruses have been relegated to construction work and are not being used for patrol duties, while the other is fully operational. The three Explorers remain in good shape.

Rush said he is exploring options for adding a vehicle to the department, adding that the market is not good for a brand new vehicle, and it may be at least a year before a new one would be available.

“Getting a decent one donated probably is our best bet to get us going into next year,” he said.

Council also had the first reading of an ordinance that will prohibit parking vehicles at all times on the eastern side of Forrest Avenue from East Walnut Street to Central Avenue.

“Cars were parked on both sides of the street, and with some of the activity that’s happened up there in the past four or five months, we just think it’s better at this point to keep it open on one side,” Putnam said after the meeting, noting that having it open on that side provides more access for emergency vehicles. “We just think this is the time to eliminate parking on that side of the street.”

The second reading of the ordinance will take place in September.

In other business, Lauren LaGreca was unanimously appointed to the Washington Business District Authority Board.

LaGreca is the manager of the Ignite business incubator and will be the representative from Washington & Jefferson College on the WBDA board.