EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — In less than two years, each police department in Illinois must have body cameras in place for its officers. East St. Louis police are ahead of this deadline. On Tuesday, the department rolled out body cameras for the very first time. 5 On Your Side got an exclusive look.
Get rid of the "he-said-she-said" and get straight to the truth. That's what police Chief Kendall Perry said he was most excited about as he debuted body cameras for his officers.
At the scene of a crime, police are there to hold the bad guys accountable. But there are times when police officers themselves are the ones abusing the power entrusted to them.
"Today's law enforcement has to be able to govern itself better than it has in the past,” Perry said.
It's why he is proud to roll out a new method of accountability.
"It's not going to be he say, she say. Everything's going to be on camera,” he said.
5 On Your Side is the first station to get a look at the 50 new cameras each one of his officers will wear throughout their shifts.
Back in 2021, the Department of Justice announced East St. Louis would be awarded a $225,000 grant to get the cameras.
“It just took a long time plus with the back orders and everything to finally get everything put in. Then, you had to get the software … everything goes directly to a cloud and cannot be taken down,” he said.
Perry touts it as a win-win for both the community and police officers who are falsely accused.
"We've had people say my officer did this and did that and there's no way of determining it unless there's a camera somewhere else. Here, now with these body cams, whatever you say an officer has done, I can take a look at it,” Perry added.
The department has 35 officers which means there are plenty of extra body cameras on hand as new officers join the force.