All Pa. state troopers now have body cameras
PHILADELPHIA — All state troopers are now equipped with body cameras, in an effort to increase police accountability and transparency.
State police invested more than $40 million over the last two years to purchase 2,000 body cameras, new and expanded-view cameras for 1,400 patrol vehicles, and the software needed to store the footage.
State police began piloting the program in 2023, less than two months after a fatal police shooting of a Glen Mills car enthusiast on I-95 in Philadelphia. It expanded the program to include troopers in Philadelphia, Montgomery and Delaware Counties last year, before announcing Thursday that all troopers at the state’s 89 state police locations now have body-worn cameras.
The state initially requested bids for 2,500 body cameras. But after piloting the program it found that as a cost-saving measure, the state could purchase 2,000 and still enable all on-duty troopers to have access to a bodycam, said Col. Christopher Paris, state police commissioner. Each station has a bank of cameras for troopers to take during their shifts.
“The Pennsylvania State Police, like all law enforcement agencies, faces more scrutiny than ever from a public that rightfully demands interactions with troopers to be safe, respectful, and constitutional,” Paris said at a news conference Thursday in Harrisburg. “Body-worn cameras are a critical step forward in meeting that demand.”
The rollout finished weeks ahead of schedule and was within its budget, Paris added.
The investment into the new technology from Arizona-based Axon also includes new dashboard cameras for 1,400 patrol vehicles that offer a wider perspective. This is an upgrade from the state’s previous, two-decades-old dash cameras that only captured footage of what was directly in front of the patrol car, Paris added.
Paris said body cameras and improved dash cameras offer an “objective witness” to disprove false allegations of police misconduct, encourage improved behavior from those who know they’re being recorded, and to provide evidence and corroborate testimony during the judicial process.
At a previous news conference about the body camera rollout, Paris said officers will need to turn on their camera, and state police aim to have troopers record every interaction with the public.
The footage from the body cameras will be subject to a police records request, called an Act 22 request, a spokesperson for the state police said. These must be made within 60 days of the recording, and usually require the applicant to be a victim or party to the case.
In the case of 18-year-old Anthony Allegrini, the man killed on I-95 in 2023 that expedited the state rollout of the body camera program, the investigation is still ongoing, a police spokesperson said in an email.
Body camera footage would have been beneficial for the investigation into the shooting of Allegrini and may have provided a more accurate picture of the events of that night, Capt. Gerard McShea, then-commanding officer of Troop K, said last year as part of the pilot’s expansion.
Allegrini was killed when authorities say he struck two troopers with his Audi S4 as they tried to disperse an illegal car meetup and one of the officers shot him. The responding troopers did not have body cameras at the time of the incident, footage that would have better clarified the sequence of events from that night, McShea said.
“It would have provided a different perspective that we didn’t have,” he said last year. “Perspective that wasn’t captured on the mobile video recorder or on the cell phone footage that was captured by people passing by. I think it would have left less doubt in people’s minds as to what occurred.”
