Amherst Council approves body cameras for police

AMHERST — Amherst police will be the latest department in the county to get body cameras.

Amherst City Council unanimously approved legislation to seek bids for cameras for its officers on March 27. A state Office of Criminal Justice Services grant will pay part of the cost.

The $98,150 grant will pay for the first year of a five-year contract for body cameras, Mayor Mark Costilow told council members during a March 20 Fire and Police Committee meeting. The rest of the contract — not to exceed $170,000 total — would be split up over four years.

Discussions about body cameras for officers began late last year. Amherst was awarded the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services grant just before Christmas, as part of a nearly $4.9 million set aside by the state Department of Public Safety to help law enforcement buy and upgrade body-worn devices.

At the time, Amherst Police Chief Mark Cawthon said officers came to him wanting the cameras, noting the devices capture what happens during a foot chase, or if an officer fires their weapon.

The city will seek bids for cameras that integrate with technology already in use in the department, like dash cameras in cruisers, Costilow said during the March 20 committee meeting.

Council also unanimously approved accepting equipment from the Ohio Department of Transportation to improve signal timing on state Route 58.

The improvements are separate from an ongoing traffic study and corresponding work between

Amherst and Lorain on the thoroughfare, Costilow said.

In September, the two cities came together to approve a $142,000 traffic study and crash analysis by Bramhall Engineering for the often-gridlocked area between Route 2 and Cooper Foster Park Road. The area on Lorain’s west side has become a magnet for businesses. Each city and its respective school boards also approved a tax increment financing district to divert funds to pay for traffic improvements.

Costilow said during the March 20 committee meeting that ODOT will pay for new traffic signal panels along state Route 58 — a roughly $10,000 cost.

The city will contract with Signal Services for about $1,200 to install the timing equipment, which should relieve some of the traffic until the other study with Lorain is done.