MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Miami Beach police officers could soon be outfitted with body cameras.
City officials said attaching body cameras on cops can reduce complaints and frivolous lawsuits against officers and the police department.
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They said in the U.S., more than $2 billion are paid out each year to settle police brutality cases.
Police Chief Daniel Oates came from Aurora, Colorado, where they tried body cameras and liked it.
"Within five years, every cop in America is going to be wearing a body camera," Oates said. "It is an absolutely inevitable evolution of American policing."
Oates said cameras may help in high-profile incidents like the one in Ferguson, Missouri.
Miami Beach doesn't just want officers to wear them. Fire inspectors, code compliance officers, building inspectors and parking enforcement personnel would also carry them.
The president of the Miami Beach police union has publicly questioned the move, saying it could be a distraction for officers.
Oates agrees there are challenges, as with any new technology.
"The biggest challenge is the back end," Oates said. "It's the collection of massive amounts of digital evidence, storage and retrieval."
That's something the city will have to figure how to do without spending too much money, and while keeping the public happy.
"Cameras everywhere and all you have is no privacy," said Miami Beach resident Donald Thomas, who is opposed to the body cameras. "How can you live life and have an enjoyable time?"
"They're here to protect the community and we want to make sure they're doing their job properly," said Brian Hermerding, a Miami Beach resident who is in support of the body cameras.
WEB EXTRA | Watch historic video of Miami Beach PD's use of cameras (1939)