Columbia Council OKs purchase of body cameras for police

Columbia City Council on Tuesday approved spending nearly $170,000 to purchase 300 body-worn cameras for Columbia police officers.

The Columbia Police Department began looking into the possibly of introducing body-worn cameras in June 2014.

Since then, numerous high-profile incidents of officer use of force have ignited discussions across the United States concerning body-worn cameras.

Twenty-five Columbia police officers tested five versions of body-worn cameras over the summer to help evaluate the department's equipment options.

The department will purchase COBAN Echo cameras.

This story was originally published December 1, 2015 at 6:53 PM with the headline "Columbia Council OKs purchase of body cameras for police."