Bend police begin testing body cameras

'We want to have that transparency and show people that we're doing the right thing'

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) - The Bend Police Department is testing out different body cameras for their officers to wear while on duty. 

“We don’t really have anything to hide. I think we only have good things to gain from this,” Officer Zachary Childers said Thursday. 

Their goal in adding the cameras is to try and strengthen the relationship between police and the community. 

“I can tell you that it’s something that we need, right? Every day we’re going out and we’re surrounded by really great people who are doing awesome things for our community," Childers said.

"We want the community to see that," he added. "We want to have that transparency and show people that we’re doing the right thing.”  

Bend police currently have eight officers wearing the cameras in the field.

They’ll be testing out multiple makes and models over the next few months.

They plan on having every officer wearing a body cam by early this summer. 

The department has wanted body cameras for years but is just now receiving the funding. They hope this helps add a level of transparency with the community. 

Bend resident Datar Singh feels it’s a necessary change.

“I think adding body cams will change things at first, because people might not be used to it,” Singh said. “But after they get used to it, it’s going to be an added level of protection for us citizens, as much as it is for the police.” 

While some officers and citizens believe police body cams are a positive move, there are still some concerns.

Lt. Juli McConkey emphasized that the cameras may not tell the whole story. 

“I think the only downside could be the angle of the camera,” McConkey said. 

“It’s that if I’m facing you it will show that angle. However, if something is happening outside of the screen, and I turn my head to see what’s happening somewhere else, if there’s an assault or a dispute or something, unless I turn my body where the camera would be, you wouldn’t see that,” she explained 

Alek Rassekh, who is in town visiting, said he thinks it could alter the way officers act. 

“It may change the way the police behave,” Rassekh said. “That can go both ways. That can be a good thing, because I think law enforcement, there’s a certain degree of pressure, knowing that they’re on camera and every action is being watched.”

McConkey said that after several community surveys and years of interest, this is something both the people the officers are excited for.