Peachtree City to replace police cameras

Peachtree City is replacing all of the vehicle and body-worn cameras used by its police officers. The switch was announced by Assistant Chief of Police Matt Myers at the Feb. 4 City Council meeting. Myers said the department has been using equipment made by Coban Technologies since 2008, but the company was recently sold and the existing cameras have become “nearly impossible” to service in-house; out-of-state maintenance can take up to two weeks.

The council voted 5-0 to allocate $196,499 to purchase new video equipment made by Axon Enterprises, using funds from SPLOST and CIP accounts and the regular police department budget. Myers said the city will benefit from the easier device maintenance and video storage capabilities of the new system. He also said the Axon cameras will automatically activate when an officer draws either a weapon or a Taser, and provide video footage 30 seconds before that occurs.