HARTSVILLE, SC (WBTW) – The city of Hartsville announced Tuesday that it will apply for a $11,500 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to buy body cameras for police officers.
Last year, law enforcement agencies in the Pee Dee received thousands of dollars in grant money to buy body cameras.
Lt. Mark Blair says the department bought 14 body cameras last year, but need more to assign each officer on the streets their own camera. He says the Hartsville Police Department have been using body cameras since 2010.
“The models that we bought several years back, the first ones we bought are actually reaching the end of life and the manufacturer is no longer supporting those cameras or producing them, so we’re having an issue with some of our body cameras breaking and we’re not able to replace them,” Lt. Blair explained.
The city’s spokesperson says the city will match $5,750 to help purchase the body cameras.
