Inver Grove Heights is moving toward being the next city to put body cameras on its police officers, perhaps as soon as November.
Police Chief Paul Schnell brought the idea to the city council at a work session this week, noting that — after 2019 — it would cost about $70,000 annually for licensing and video storage.
Funding the body-worn cameras from this November through next year would be covered by about $135,000 already set aside by the city to upgrade squad car video systems and the storage server, Schnell said. A new video system would also be installed in the police interview room.
According to a 2016 state law, elected officials or governing bodies do not have to approve a body camera policy, but they do — of course — have a say on funding, Schnell said.
Next week, the city will publish a draft of a body-worn camera policy on the city’s website, allowing residents to comment as required by state law. A public-input session is scheduled for the council’s Oct. 22 meeting.
The number of Minnesota law enforcement agencies with body-worn cameras totals at least 40 — and is growing, according to the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association. Burnsville police in 2010 became the first in the state to use body-worn cameras.
Inver Grove Heights would be the fourth Dakota County city with the cameras, joining Burnsville, Farmington and Hastings.