. PAUL, Minn. – All state troopers on Minnesota highways now are equipped with bodycams, the State Patrol reported. The roll-out of chest-worn cameras began in December. The cameras start recording any time a squad car’s emergency lights are turned on, and when a gun is taken out of its holster or a taser device turned on. The bodycams are in addition dashcams that have been in use several years.
Verbatim
Troy Christianson, regional trooper: “It gives better representation of what we’re seeing when we’re approaching vehicles and what we’re seeing in the vehicle. Squad cameras do a great job, but it’s just the back. They’re not getting the inside or the interaction with the people. These pick up really good picture quality and also sound.”
Evidentiary tool
Since the start of the dashcam-bodycam project, the State Patrol has captured 200,000 pieces of video evidence. That totals 60,000 hours. Troopers are projected to record an average of 600 hours of video daily across the state now that the project is complete. Most of the video is retained 13 months.