CPD announces next 7 districts to receive body cameras

Chicago Police announced Sunday that the next seven police districts to be outfitted with body cameras for officers will be the Englewood, Harrison, Chicago Lawn, Grand Crossing, Grand Central, Central and Near North districts.

Infrastructure improvements to accommodate the cameras will begin this fall in the districts, which cover much of the West and South sides where violence in the city typically is concentrated.

Police Supt. Eddie Johnson announced last week that all 22 police districts will be equipped with cameras for every officer on every shift, with the number of cameras rising from 2,000 now to about 7,000 by 2018. The expansion is expected to cost $8 million through city funding and grants.

The pilot program began in January 2015 in the Shakespeare District on the Northwest Side. This year, the department expanded the program to the Austin, Wentworth, Deering, Ogden, South Chicago and Gresham districts.

“Body cameras have proven to be a valuable tool in promoting departmental accountability and trust, while providing a firsthand look into the dangerous situations Chicago police officers face everyday to protect our communities,” Johnson said in a statement.

But a police-involved shooting in the South Chicago district has raised concerns about whether cops are purposely turning off their cameras. Paul O’Neal, 18, was fatally shot on July 28 after he hit two police SUVs in a stolen Jaguar. Johnson stripped three officers of their police powers for allegedly violating police policy.

The camera of the officer who fired the fatal shot apparently wasn’t recording when he fired. But after the shooting, his camera captured him saying he didn’t know O’Neal was armed. Later, a supervisor cautioned officers to “make sure these are all off now,” apparently talking about their cameras.