MENTOR, Ohio — The Mentor Police Department will acquire new body cameras after the department was recently awarded two grants totaling $91,107.50.
The grants from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS) will be used to purchase 40 Motorola WatchGuard V300 body cameras.
Mentor police officers have been wearing body cameras since 2018 and using dash cams since 2013.
"The objective of the grant request was to ensure that 100% of police-civilian interactions are recorded for the purpose of transparency, accountability, and to serve as a valuable resource for officer complaints and police investigations," a spokesperson for the department said in a news release.
The new cameras have an extended battery life that will last during an officer's 12-hour shift. The advanced technology also includes high-definition video and distortion correction, which will help better document calls for service, the department said.
The department said the new cameras also integrate with existing technology, including with the dash cameras, which allows the footage from both bodycams and dash cams to be aggregated and viewed from multiple vantage points.
A 25% match in the amount of $12,616.25 was required and approved by City Council for the 2021 Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant award, one of the grants issued by OCJS.
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