Six local businesses along S. Glaspie St. pooled their resources and made a $5,400 donation to the Oxford Village Police Department last week to purchase body cameras for its officers.

The checks were presented to Police Chief Mike Neymanowski during the June 14 council meeting.

“Gentlemen, I certainly appreciate it,” Neymanowski said. “This helps tremendously.”

The money was contributed by Vaughn Custom Sports, owned by Mike and Alena Vaughn ($800); Stanisci Design and Manufacturing, owned by Bill and Teresa Stanisci ($800); TKMS Trucking ($1,200); Dry Coolers, owned by Brian Russell ($800); Acorn Stamping, owned by Bobby Cox ($800); and CAM Logic, Inc., owned by Jim and Denise Carlisle ($1,000).

Six body cameras, plus all the related accessories, will be purchased from Wolfcom Vision, a company based in Los Angeles, California.

The lightweight cameras are smaller than a business card and capable of recording up to 36 hours of video and a maximum of 360 hours of audio. They can also snap up to 56,000 photos.

Neymanowski said body cameras are something that had been on his “wish list” for a while, but the department could not afford to purchase them due to budgetary issues.

He first became interested in getting body cameras for his officers while attending the International Association of Chiefs of Police annual conference about a year-and-a-half ago.

“I went to some different seminars and did a lot of reading on it, and I thought body cams would be beneficial for our police officers and the community as a whole,” he told council.

Given all the national controversy these days surrounding the use of force by police, the chief felt it would be a good idea to have this tool capable of recording incidents.

“A police officer’s word isn’t as golden as it used to be,” Neymanowski said.

The chief gave one of his officers, Dave Churchill, the green light to explore obtaining body cameras for the agency.

After researching the issue and conducting some tests, it was determined that Wolfcom Vision was the best fit in terms of both cost and efficiency, according to Neymanowski.

Churchill approached Carlisle, owner and president of CAM Logic, located at 650 S. Glaspie St., for a possible donation.

Carlisle felt it was “a bit of a challenge” to fund the project on his own, so he enlisted the aid of his fellow business owners in the village’s industrial district.

They all agreed to chip in.

Neymanowski was “taken aback” and “overwhelmed” by the business owners’ generosity.

Carlisle explained to council he agreed to help because he believes body cameras are “very valuable technology” that can protect police officers from false allegations and protect the public from potential abuse and misconduct by law enforcement.

Carlisle cited some statistics from a November 2013 article in The Guardian about police use of body cameras in Rialto, California.

Rialto conducted a randomized, controlled study that found after body cameras were introduced in February 2012, public complaints against officers fell by 88 percent, compared with the previous 12 months, and officers’ use of force fell by 60 percent, according to the article.

Rialto’s police chief told The Guardian that citizen complaints often stemmed from “officers’ mouths,” but “with a camera, they are more conscious of how they speak and how they treat people.” As for citizens, once they were informed they were being filmed, they tended to be more polite, he noted.

Body cameras are also helpful when it comes to collecting video and audio evidence for use in court proceedings.

Outfitting village police with the Wolfcom Vision cameras will cost $4,525, leaving approximately $900 left over.

Police are hoping to put the extra funds toward eventually purchasing a radar speed display sign, which could be used to, for example, help slow motorists traveling in school zones.

Carlisle encouraged people to donate toward this. “I welcome anyone to help with the funding of these signs,” he said.

Village President Sue Bossardet expressed her gratitude for the donation.

“I think it’s a phenomenal thing that our business people do things like that,” she said. “I think that we’ve got a phenomenal group of people that are invested in the community.”