BELLEFONTE, Pa. (WTAJ) — Monday night, Centre County District Attorney, Bernie Cantorna, presented Bellefonte Borough council members with a $15,000 check for body cameras, for police in the borough.
Police departments across the region, particularly in Centre County, continue to implement body cameras, but many departments have had trouble paying for the technology.
Cantorna says Bellefonte Borough Police Chief, Shawn Weaver, has been asking him for body cameras for a while. The money is coming from the county’s drug forfeiture fund. Chief Weaver says the cameras will provide extra protection for police.
“In certain areas, people do have a fear of the police, and you know it would make me feel uncomfortable if I was talking to a person who’s actually afraid of me, and if that camera’s there, and they see the red lights on, they know that it’s a live feed,” Weaver said.
The $15,000 check covers more than half of the $27,000 total bill. The money will buy 11 body cameras and the hardware that runs them.