Who will pay for police body cameras?

While there is a push to have police in Michigan wear body cameras, both state and local officials are struggling over just how to pay for it.

State Senate Republican Rick Jones, a former sheriff in Michigan, says it’s a “good idea,” but he says the cost will be “great” for local governments.

He also doesn’t see the state coming up with the money to pay for the cameras and the only possibility he sees would be help from the federal government, which so far has not materialized.

There’s other questions as well. Grand Rapids city attorney Catherine Mish says there will be a cost associated with Freedom of Information Act requests for video. She believes a city would have to employ a person just to review video that has been requested.

The Grand Rapids Police department began “field testing” police body cameras last week.