Anchorage police say they will begin outfitting officers with body cameras in mid-November.
During an Assembly public safety committee meeting this week, Police Chief Michael Kerle said the department has already received some of the equipment after signing a contract with Axon Enterprise last month.
“We’ve received 16 pallets worth of equipment, which includes body-worn cameras and the in-car video systems,” Kerle said.
The implementation of the cameras comes two-and-a-half years after Anchorage voters approved a $1.8 million tax increase to purchase the equipment. The lengthy timeline stemmed, in part, from disagreements between the police department and union over the policy. And, in April, the Alaska Black Caucus sued the city over the delays.
Kerle said Axon representatives will visit Anchorage the week of Nov. 13 to begin training officers on how to use the cameras, as the department upgrades police vehicles’ video systems. He said they hope to get 30 vehicles outfitted by the end of November.
“As the vehicles are outfitted with the in-car video system, officers will be given the body cameras, and there’ll be continuous implementation until all 350 body cameras are on the street,” Kerle said.
Kerle said the body cameras will be linked to the in-car systems, automatically turning on when lights and sirens go off to respond to a call.
Wesley Early covers Anchorage life and city politics for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at wearly@alaskapublic.org and follow him on X at @wesley_early. Read more about Wesley here.
