VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The Virginia Beach Police Department has added mobile video recorders to 215 marked police cars, according to a press release from the department.
The Axon Fleet 3 recorders will capture what goes on in front of police cars as well as an angle showing rear seats when people are being arrested.
These cameras are in addition to the requirement that all sworn officers have body cameras. The cameras now start recording two-minutes prior to activation, up from 30 seconds.
Officers are also now required to activate cameras when they are dispatched to incidents, rather than upon arrival to a scene.
The police department has made several changes following the 2021 incident at the Oceanfront, where a Virginia Beach Police officer shot and killed Donovon Lynch. The officer failed to activate his body-worn camera.
During a recent briefing in front of the city council, Chief Paul Neudigate gave a real life example of the increased cameras proving effective. A woman accused an officer of inappropriately touching her during an arrest, he said. Review of body camera footage and video from her inside the patrol car proved her allegation to be false.
"Not only does it protect our officers, it protects this community. It helps us build cases for those individuals who are engaged in criminal conduct," Neudigate said.
