Fullerton Police Department Becomes First Agency In O.C. To Outfit Entire Force With Body Cameras

FULLERTON (CBSLA.com) — The Fullerton Police Department has become the first agency in Orange County to outfit an entire force with body-worn cameras.

As CBS2's Michele Gile reports, all 140 officers within the police department are equipped with the cameras, which record both video and audio.

"The use of the body-worn camera will impact the officer and the public. People will generally have a much more peaceful interaction if they both know that they're being recorded," Sgt. Katie Hamel of the Fullerton Police Department.

In fact, a year-long study done on Rialto police officers, who have worn body cameras, showed that use-of-force incidents dropped by 59 percent.

The study also showed that the utilization of cameras reduced citizen complaints by nearly 88 percent.

"It's nice to have an audio and a visual image of incidents and supervision can use these incidents to gauge officer performance," Hamel said.

Fullerton police have had their cameras since January.

Already, one officer accused in a use-of-force case has been exonerated by the Fullerton police chief after a review of the camera's audio and video, officials said.

Anaheim police, as well as the Orange County Sheriff's Department are also looking into the possibility of using body-worn cameras.