City of Akron Outfitting SWAT and Uniformed SNUD Officers with Body-Worn Cameras

City of Akron Outfitting SWAT and Uniformed SNUD Officers with Body-Worn Cameras

Akron, Ohio,November 4, 2024- Today, Akron Mayor Shammas Malik is introducing legislation to Akron City Council in order to purchase body-worn cameras for the Akron Police Department's Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and the uniformed officers of the Street Narcotics Uniform Detail (SNUD) units. These units have not previously been equipped with body-worn cameras.

In 2020, the City of Akron convened the City's Racial Equity Social Justice Taskforce (RESJ). In 2022, the taskforce completed their report, which recommended various reforms across the city and included a recommendation for SWAT officers to be equipped with body-worn cameras.

"The legislation is a further step in our commitment to increasing trust between our community and our law enforcement officers," said Mayor Malik. "These units do important and necessary work in our community and outfitting them with body-worn cameras helps ensure transparency."

"The Akron Police Department supports the use of body-worn cameras for our SWAT and uniformed SNUD officers to help better protect our residents and our officers," said Police Chief Brian Harding. "This is an important update and responds directly to a recommendation from the City's Racial Equity Social Justice Taskforce. We plan to train the uniformed officers in these units in the coming months to ensure a seamless transition with the new equipment when it arrives."

If Council approves the funding, APD will order the necessary equipment from Axon Enterprises. The Akron Police Department and city law department are already working on updates to the body-worn camera policy to properly protect confidential informants and undercover officers as part of this change. Once the equipment is received and policy updated, these uniformed units will be outfitted immediately with the cameras, which may be as early as the end of this year.