SKIATOOK, Okla. — Skiatook police officers are now equipped with body cameras after a struggle to get them passed for years.
The police department will have the body cameras worn on officers' vests at all times. They say it's for transparency within the department and the whole community.
With help from a $10,000 grant from the Oklahoma Municipal Assurance Group, the entire police department of about 18 officers finally have them.
“We’ve been living in the past for quite a while,” said Skiatook Police Officer Kimberly Okerson.
Billy Cohea, of Skiatook, is content with his flip phone camera, but he believes officers in his growing town need top-of-the-line equipment for safety.
“Those cameras don’t lie," Cohea said.
Okerson echoes Cohea and is thankful for what she claims is better city leadership.
"Our previous governmental leadership was not in favor of body cams," Okerson said.
With one double click of the body camera, every piece of video automatically gets sent back to the station.
Next, officers say they want to strive to get dash cameras for all of the patrol units. If it means Cohea’s neighbors and loved ones are safe, he’s for it.
“I lived here a long time," Cohea said. "I didn’t know they didn’t have all that. They need it.”
Officers say the body cameras will be used for investigations, prosecutions and training purposes.
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