Metro Transit police will start wearing body cameras

Metro Transit police will begin wearing body cameras in the coming weeks, the department announced Friday.

The cameras will be front-facing and will have internal storage for audio and video footage. Agents will be able to start checking in at any time, but they will need to let people know they are checked in before they start.

Use of body cameras will begin with the department’s Special Response Team and Tactical Operations Unit, which together number about two dozen members, in late March and early April.

After that, the equipment will be phased in, with 315 Metro Transit Police Department officers trained in the use and wearing of the cameras by the end of the summer. These cameras mounted by agents will be added to the more than 20,000 fixed cameras in the métro network.

The cameras will not be worn by all members of the department, but only by public-facing officers of lieutenant rank and below.

The program, which received a $900,000 federal grant to get started, is expected to cost $7 million over the next five years, including hiring new support staff for the camera program.

“Transparency is a core value for MTPD, and we are committed to everyone’s safety,” MTPD chief Michael Anzallo said in a statement.