PORTLAND (AP) — Maine’s largest city has reached a tentative agreement with police unions on a contract that would require officers to start wearing body cameras.
The Portland Press Herald reports Democratic Mayor Ethan Strimling called for body cameras after a Portland officer shot and killed 22-year-old Chance David Baker in February. The City Council is scheduled to take an initial vote on the agreement at a Monday night meeting.
Body cameras are in use by several Maine police departments, including South Portland, Gardiner and Farmington. The memorandum of agreement states that body-worn camera footage can be used in performance reviews. It also states that discipline won’t be “dispensed solely on the basis of the body worn camera footage.”
The agreement states that an officer’s body camera won’t be powered off during shift.
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