Marquette police wearing digital cameras

Officers with the Marquette Police Department are now wearing digital cameras on their uniforms.

In July, the department received a technology grant. The officers researched and tested different models, and the city ended up buying 15 Wolfcom 3rd Eye body cameras for patrol officers.

Wolfcom company officials say several other law enforcement agencies in the Marquette area are asking them about body cameras for their officers as well. Deputies with the Marquette County Sheriff’s Department have been wearing body cameras for more than a year now; a recording from one such camera was an important piece of evidence in the murder trial of Jack Carpenter of Ishpeming several weeks ago.

The cameras weigh about four pounds and record sound as well as video. Wolfcom officials say that since what’s recorded can’t lie, members of the public behave better in an officer’s presence and police accountability also improves.