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Florida Police Union Wants Say About Body Camera Policy

The Gulf Coast Chapter of the Florida Police Benevolent Association is asking the Fort Myers police chief for bargaining rights in the implementation of the department's new body camera policy.

TASER Axon system on officer. (Photo: Mark W. Clark)TASER Axon system on officer. (Photo: Mark W. Clark)

The Gulf Coast Chapter of the Florida Police Benevolent Association is asking the Fort Myers police chief for bargaining rights in the implementation of the department's new body camera policy.

Matt Sellers, president of the Gulf Coast Chapter, said the group is not against officers wearing body cameras, but it is concerned with the policy. The police union represents some of the officers on the Fort Myers police force as well as other regional agencies.

"There are serious concerns about training and also the right to privacy of the citizens of Fort Myers and officers," Sellers said. "We don't disagree with officers wearing body cameras but we want them properly trained." Sellers added that the policy of how to use the cameras is "vague."

Fort Myers Police Chief Doug Baker, in an interview last week with the News-Press, said he understands the concerns, but is moving forward with the policy in place. "The policy that we have put forward is very clear," Baker said. "It is very specific when it tells you to record, not to record and what we want to capture."

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