Sherri Quammen holds a protest sign calling for justice for three victims of shootings by Chico police officers.
by Dave Waddell
Police Chief Mike O’Brien — lauding the use of body-worn cameras by his patrol officers — says cameras will also soon be attached to the blue uniforms of Chico PD’s 13 sergeants.
As first reported here by ChicoSol, Chico Police Department patrol officers began sporting the body cameras last April, a couple of weeks after two policemen shot and killed Desmond Phillips, a young black man in mental crisis.
O’Brien said that after 10½ months of use, he would give the camera experience a “very favorable” evaluation.
“That is not only my perspective, but I believe the majority of officers as well,” O’Brien said. “It is an important part of policing for all involved.”
In addition to the sergeants, four members of Chico PD’s so-called Target Team also will soon wear body cameras for the first time as part of what O’Brien described as “Phase Two” of the department’s body-cam deployment.