WHY NOT?

Kenosha Cops Still Don’t Have the Bodycams Asked for Three Years Ago

Kenosha initially planned to buy the cameras this year, but that was pushed back to 2022.

Police officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin, do not wear body cameras, despite law enforcement leaders unanimously backing their use in 2017. On Sunday, a 29-year-old Black man, Jacob Blake, was shot multiple times in the back by police in Kenosha as he tried to get into a vehicle with his three children. As officers who were on the scene were not equipped with bodycams, the public has only seen video of the incident because it was captured by a neighbor. That footage doesn’t show what happened before or after the shooting. The incident has sparked two nights of protests in Kenosha. “This is a tragedy. But at least some good could come from this if this is finally the incident where Kenosha says, ‘We’ve got to get body cameras on these cops right away’,” said Kevin Mathewson, a former member of the common council. Kenosha officers do have cameras in their squad cars, but it’s unclear whether any captured the shooting. Kenosha initially planned to buy the cameras this year, but funding shortfalls and technological concerns prompted the city to push that back to 2022.