Columbia Police Will Have New Body Cameras in Place by 2016

Blue lights on top of a police car, blurred taillights in background

Columbia City Council has approved the purchase of 300 body cameras for Columbia city police, according to The State.

Police Chief Skip Holbrook said Thursday, Dec. 3, that the first cameras should arrive within 30 to 45 days and will provide further accountability to the Columbia city force.

The cameras purchasing total was just under $170,000, with $79,000 of that cost coming from the Justice Assistance Grant Program and the rest coming from the Police Department's body camera fund.

As Palmetto Scene previously reported, politicians in South Carolina passed a bill requiring law enforcement officials to wear body cameras. Governor Nikki Haley signed the bill into law in early June, in a response to the fatal shooting of Walter Scott in North Charleston earlier this year.

WIS reports the law requires police agencies to create their own regulations and policies regarding who will wear the cameras and when and where they should be recording.

Footage from the cameras will be kept for a minimum of 60 days.