Battle Ground police officers will begin using body-worn cameras while on duty starting next week.
The agency, which includes 27 sworn officers, will officially turn on the cameras Monday, the Battle Ground Police Department announced Tuesday.
The Battle Ground City Council approved funding for the cameras May 6 through a combination of city funds and $67,000 from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs Body-Worn Camera Grant Program.
“I am incredibly grateful to our city council and our city leadership team for their support to bring body-worn cameras to Battle Ground,” Police Chief Dennis Flynn said in a news release. “We are confident that this new tool will assist with fostering a deeper level of trust between our officers and the community we serve.”
Battle Ground is the fifth law enforcement agency in Clark County to adopt a body camera program.
The Camas Police Department, which has 30 officers, was the first in Clark County to implement a program in 2022. The Vancouver Police Department followed suit in March 2023, then the Washougal Police Department in June 2023 and the Clark County Sheriff’s Office in November.
The Ridgefield Police Department does not use body cameras, city spokeswoman Megan DeMoss said.
Body cameras can enhance transparency, improve accountability and increase public confidence in police, the Battle Ground Police Department said.
The department partnered with Axon Enterprises to provide the cameras and training in preparation of the rollout, communications manager Alisha Smith said. The training includes guidelines for when officers are out in the field and instructions for the officers to use across the board.
Officers will attach the cameras to their uniforms and manually activate them to record and stop recording. Officers upload footage to a cloud server but cannot alter or delete footage
