Seattle mayor orders police to wear body cameras

SEATTLE (AP) – Seattle Mayor Ed Murray has ordered the city’s police department to equip patrol officers with body cameras.
 
The decision, first reported Monday by The Seattle Times , comes one month after the absence of video recordings left lingering questions about the police shooting of Charleena Lyles, a pregnant mother who had struggled with mental health issues.
 
The city has been negotiating with the Seattle Police Officers Guild over deploying the cameras. But Murray said the cameras are a necessary accountability tool and the union talks have stalled.
 
All bike-patrol officers in the West Precinct, which includes much of downtown Seattle, are to begin wearing them by Saturday. The remaining patrol officers in the precinct are to have them by Sept. 30, with other precincts to follow.
 
He said the city will continue negotiating with the union over the issue, even as the cameras roll out.