An Eye on Southington’s Officers: PD to Pilot Body Camera Program

Think police are trying to keep the true details of their cases from the public? Think again.

The Southington Police Department is about to embark on a pilot program that would place a body camera on each officer to record interactions with the public, an initiative that Lt. Michael Baribault said will provide benefits to the community as a whole.

“It provides so many opportunities for our officers and the public alike,” said Baribault, who spearheaded the effort for the police department. “When our officers have interactions with the public, it films and documents the interaction. It will allow officers to look back and provide more accurate reports and details.”

The new tools will also provide protection to residents who may be concerned about police embellishing a case – something he also said he was not concerned with – as well as providing training opportunities when reviewing the tapes for unusual responses.

The cameras, version LE2 by Vievu, are valued online at $900 each and are able to see 71 degrees in the field they attach to an officers chest, weighing just 3.5 ounces and battery and recording life each last four hours in between charging, according to the Vievu website.

According to the company, the cameras record both color video and audio, but are also waterproof and designed absorb a considerable amount of shock.

John Leary, chairman of the Board of Finance, said he sees the cameras as a benefit for the town and will provide officers with an opportunity many departments don’t have. Although the cameras are starting to be more accepted within law enforcement, Baribault notes, Southington would be one of a handful around the state using them.  

The cameras are currently used in places across the state including Wolcott, where police spoke with Baribault to provide feedback, as well as in Hartford, Danbury and Hamden.

The finance board approved the total purchase, just over $7,000, as part of their agenda after the police department received a donation from Southington resident Curtis Robinson.

“This is great for the whole community and we certainly have to thank those who made it possible,” Leary said. “It’s not everyday that the town receives a check from someone in the community. It gives us a chance to do things that we might not have otherwise been able to do with taxpayer money.”

The cameras will now be ordered and Baribault said he hopes they will be road ready by the end of the month.

“We are certainly looking forward to unveiling these for the public,” he said.

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