Thousands to Lafayette Marshal's Office for Body Cam Upgrades

There will be significant upgrades to the body cameras worn by those that work for the Lafayette City Marshal's Office according to Lafayette Marshal Reggie Thomas.

Thomas says that Lafayette was awarded thousands of dollars for body-worn cameras through a grant from the Small, Rural, and Tribal program via the Bureau of Justice Assistance program.

The grant money totals just over $34,000 dollars, and it will be used to upgrade body cameras for Marshal's service employees. The grant funding is a matching grant, and the Lafayette City Marshal's Office will match the award.

Especially interesting about the cameras is the ability for supervisors to be about to watch the footage, which is being recorded, as things are happening live. The footage is stored via the company Axon, and the program allows for GPS location to be recorded as well.

City Marshal Thomas has this today as the grant money,

The Lafayette City Marshal's Office deputies already had body cams, but we need upgrades. This grant allowed us to purchase much-advanced equipment, which will increase not only our accountability and safety but also continue ensuring we are serving our community with transparency.

The upgrades will begin to be phased in during the period of the next month. In addition, Thomas says their agency will be able to afford to purchase twenty-one more cameras.

Marshal Thomas says that he is committed to transparency in the actions of his office, and this is one way to ensure that they continue to offer transparency to the public.