When 60 Tampa police officers started wearing body cameras in February, there was a lot of optimism.
Now, four months later, Tampa Police Captain Tony Zambito calls the pilot program a work in progress. He said there's been additional training on uploading the video from the body cameras, but overall Zambito said the program is going well. He gave an update to city council Thursday.
"I have no complaints except one that was filed on a rudeness and it happened to an officer that was using the body worn camera and subsequent to reviewing the camera, the complaint of rudeness was unfounded," said Tampa Police Captain Tony Zambito.
That's one complaint, out of 10,475 videos that have been captured with TPD's body cameras. About 1,300 videos were arrests.
However, officers have faced challenged with the new equipment - particularly where and how to wear it.
"Positioning of the cameras is paramount," Zambito said. "We've found sometimes the epaulet is not the best place."
Officers discovered the current uniform is not sturdy enough to hold the camera in place.
Zambito said the department is looking into new police wear with stiffer material to keep the equipment from moving around.
Zambito also said there are glitches in docking and uploading the video. Tampa Police are hoping to have the system automated in three weeks.