Council to Discuss Police Body Cameras Thanks to $10,000 Anonymous Donation

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Texarkana, Texas City Council will be voting to allow a monetary donation of $10,000 for the purpose of purchasing body camera’s to be worn by patrol officers.

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at Texarkana, Texas City Hall.

Ordinance No. 2015-015 will allow for a monetary donation of $10,000 to be added to the police department budget account number 101-1702- 52207 (Minor Tools and Equipment) for the purpose of using donation funds to purchase body cameras to be utilized by patrol officers.

According to the council agenda packet the police department was recently approached by a citizen who expressed a desire to make an anonymous monetary donation of $10,000 to assist in purchasing body worn audio and video recording devices. The money has already been received and placed into the city general fund.

The council will also be considering Ordinance No. 2015-016 creating the rank of Assistant Chief of Police by approving and authorizing the reclassification of two (2) non-tested Police Captain Positions to two Assistant Chief Positions and eliminating assignment pay for the Police Department Chief of Staff.

The recent announcement that Captain Tony Autrey will retire at the end of January has presented an opportunity to move forward with Phase Two of the Police Department restructuring plan that was initiated early last year. The first phase, in 2014, saw the Department reduce the number of divisions from four to three, and the appointment of a Chief of Staff to facilitate inter-divisional cooperative efforts. While the changes have seen success the Department is poised to move into the next phase of reorganization.

View the full council packet here.

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