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Body cameras became a new reality for Bartlesville Police Officers. BPD Officers began wearing department issued body cameras on Tuesday.

Back in March, Councilman Paul Stuart rode with Bartlesville Police Officers to see what they do. He said body cameras would have been nice for the officers to have.

Councilman Stuart added that they went to a local tavern to make their presence felt and make sure people knew to drive sober on top of other things. This experience led Stuart to believe that the Bartlesville Police Department needed more to do their job.

A man allegedly flipped off police and acted belligerently when they were at the bar. Councilman Stuart said the BPD later discovered that the gentleman had active warrants for his arrest so an arrest was made.

During the arrest, others in the bar were allegedly filming the incident on their phones. The body cameras, Stuart said, would've been nice in that time so the officers could film the incident from their perspective.

The Bartlesville Police Department recently purchased 55 of the body worn cameras, so every Police Officer on duty will be wearing one. The Department also purchased 11 in car camera systems which are being installed this week (pictured below).

Officers in the field tested several camera systems before making the decision on which equipment to purchase.

Initially BPD received a grant from the Oklahoma Municipal Assurance Group for the purchase of 10 cameras. The Bartlesville City Council however approved additional funding to allow the department to order enough equipment to provide every officer with a camera.

There is quite a process which goes into managing all the video evidence collected and providing it for court purposes as well as media request.  The administrative staff will be attending additional training next month on managing the collection of the video evidence recorded.