Police on Maui to test cameras

WAILUKU >> Maui police officers will be outfitted with body cameras this Halloween as part of a test to see whether the Police Department will eventually require officers to use the devices while on duty.

The equipment will be tested on some of the officers assigned to Front Street in Lahaina, the Maui News reported Thursday. Police anticipate a large turnout for Front Street activities on Halloween.

“We’re going to test the equipment and see how it works,” Police Chief Tivoli Faaumu said during a Maui Police Commission meeting Wednesday at the University of Hawaii Maui College.

The cameras on Halloween are being provided by a different vendor from the one that supplied the department with body cameras for testing earlier this year.

In April, 10 officers from the Wailuku, Kihei and Lahaina patrol districts volunteered to use the cameras, which fit on uniforms or sunglasses. Taser International provided the cameras at no cost as part of a pilot project to test the technology. The devices ranged in price from around $400 to $600.

After completing testing and a review of the cameras, Faaumu said police are now looking to seek bids for the cost of acquiring about 125 cameras. Police received a $78,000 grant from the Department of Justice to help with costs, Faaumu said.