KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tuesday night, the Knoxville City Council unanimously approved a resolution to start the process of outfitting Knoxville Police Department officers with body cameras.
The resolution authorizes Mayor Indya Kincannon to enter into an agreement with Axon Enterprise, Inc. to provide the Knoxville Police Department with a Comprehensive In-Car and Body Camera Video Capture and Cloud-Based Management System for 350 officers for a 5-year term at a cost not to exceed $4,923,125.70.
Ronald Mills, the city of Knoxville's deputy law director, said that footage from the cameras may be available, but will be redacted similar to police's current in-car camera systems. It will also follow policies governing ongoing criminal proceedings and investigations, officials said.
Chief Eve Thomas said that the department tried to mirror other accredited agencies' policies when creating KPD's body camera and in-car camera policies.
"This is something our officers want and our community wants," Mayor Kincannon said during the council meeting. "We hope to build greater trust between officers and the people they protect."
Plans call for all patrol officers to be wearing them by January 2021, according to the city.
Negotiations with a vendor are underway, according to the city. The process is confidential at the moment.
Knoxville City Council in September asked the Knoxville Police Department to explore acquiring and maintaining the cams during calls and investigations. Officers already have in-car cameras.
"We will continue to work with haste to get body-worn cameras in the field as quickly as possible," Chief of Police Eve Thomas said in a press release. "As an organization, we view body-worn cameras as another tool to improve transparency and accountability while increasing the trust of the community we serve."