St. Peter Police looking to implement body cams

By the beginning of 2025, the St. Peter Police Department is aiming to equip its officers with body worn cameras.

During an annual report to the St. Peter City Council on Monday, May 6, Police Chief Matt Grochow announced that department was currently in the process of reviewing cost estimates to provide each of its officers with body worn cameras. The chief’s goal is to have the technology rolled out by January 2025 or sooner.

Grochow said the initiative was sparked by both a public interest in police transparency as well as a desire from officers within the department to implement the technology.

“What I do see perceptually from citizens in the community is, ‘Why don’t you have body cameras?’ And it’s great because the officers really want them, so we’re really tasked with getting the best,” said Grochow.

More and more law enforcement agencies across Minnesota have been adopting body worn cameras. That includes agencies in the region like Mankato’s Department of Public Safety, which introduced the technology in 2022 and the Nicollet County Sheriff’s Office which began utilizing body worn cameras in 2023.

Proponents of body worn cameras say the technology is useful for gathering evidence when a complaint is filed against an officer to determine what has transpired. Recordings captured by body cameras can also serve as valuable evidence in criminal trials.

However, body cameras can also come with some hefty upfront costs. To implement the technology, cities and counties must make significant investments in data storage to manage the massive amount of hours of footage.

The St. Peter Police Department is still weighing its options, but Grochow told the City Council he’s currently leaning toward purchasing body cameras from Axon. The Police Chief said other law enforcement officials have recommended the cameras to him as some of the best on the market. The department is also currently equipped with Axon tasers, which could sync up with the cameras when drawn.

“Because we have Axon tasers, as soon as you remove that taser from the holster, if that body camera button hasn’t been pushed, it turns on automatically,” Grochow told the City Council. “So they sync in. That’s another reason that’s pushing me towards that.”

The St. Peter Police Department is also drafting a policy for when officers should activate their body cameras and how recordings should be stored and accessed. Grochow told the City Council that the policy was nearly complete.

Should the city decide to move ahead with the purchase of body worn cameras, community members will have the opportunity to provide comment beforehand, according to state statute.