At Monday night’s committee meeting, Athens City Council members discussed the pros and cons of police using body cameras with Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle.
Pyle cited no opinion, stating he was only informing of how body cameras would impact the community and the city’s budget.
“The city is under no obligation to deploy body cameras,” Pyle said. “However, if we do, we are required to adhere to privacy standards.”
Those standards, such as extensive editing for public record release, would require more manpower in the IT department than the City of Athens currently employs. By law, Athens cannot release the names of uncharged suspects, so body camera video evidence would need to be heavily edited to protect those who are uncharged.
The conversation surrounding body cameras in Athens began last year, according to a previous Post report. City council members discussed body cameras along with mounted dashboard cameras — three of which had been deployed.
“You could get the same kind of protection from a recording device that is not a camera” Councilman Pat McGee, I-At Large, said.
Pyle also discussed Dublin, Ohio, and how its police department used body cameras that converted from being a mounted dashboard camera to a harnessed body camera.
Council members also discussed the improvements on East State Street. Improvements would include narrowing the lanes with an additional bike lane added to increase safety for both pedestrians and cyclists.
In addition to the East State Street improvements, council members discussed different Trick-or-Treat opportunities around Athens.
The first opportunity is Oct. 23 at 6 p.m., beginning at the newly renovated Jefferson Hall on East Green. Participants will visit residence halls to collect candy. The safe Trick-or-Treating opportunity will allow local children to interact with Ohio University students.
The second Trick-or-Treat event will be Oct. 30 at 6:30 p.m. That event will take place from Carpenter Street to Union Street. Those roads will be cleared at 3 p.m. in preparation for participants. The event is sponsored by the Athens Uptown Business Association.
Council members also discussed affordable housing as well. Councilwoman Michele Papai, D-3rd Ward, and OU Vice President for Strategic Initiatives Stephen Golding are discussing an initiative to make housing in Athens more affordable.
“The reason this is happening is that we want the City of Athens to be more equitable and fair,” Councilwoman Chris Fahl, D-4th Ward, said.
