ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A civil rights group is calling for action by demanding the St. Petersburg Police Department equip their more than 500 police officers with body cameras.
The ACLU of Florida along with the civil rights group, National Christian League of Councils is relaunching a campaign to make body cameras law in St. Petersburg.
The call for action comes after video surfaced online of a St. Petersburg man being tased twice while on the ground. You also see the man get hit by an officer.
The NCLC said they spearheaded the first campaign for the cameras in 2014, but it was opposed then by Mayor Rick Kriseman and Chief Anthony Holloway.
Chief Holloway tells ABC Action News they have been looking into the body cameras since then, investigating different cameras, budgets and the best option for the department.
Holloway says they want to make sure they have the latest research and information.
Holloway plans to take a camera proposal to Mayor Kriseman by May or June and a final proposal with a budget to the city council by Fall.
The chief has stated in the past he’s interested in the idea of a newer technology of giving officers a police issued gun with cameras on the end.
The ACLU of Florida tells ABC Action News they aren’t just calling for St. Petersburg to use body cameras, but all departments across the Tampa area to do so too.
