Rep. Polletta, Sen. Berthel Applaud Grant for Watertown Police

State Representative Joe Polletta (R-68) and State senator Eric Berthel (R-32) today applauded the state’s Bond Commission for approving a grant to reimburse to the town of Watertown for the cost of police-worn body cameras and related equipment.

As part of a $12 million expenditure, 9 municipal police departments, including Watertown, will be reimbursed for purchases of body-worn recording equipment, digital data storage and related services for law enforcement officers. The grant approved today includes $36,256 for Watertown.

“I want to thank the Bond Commission for understanding the vital needs of our community and providing reimbursement for police body cameras and related equipment that help keep both our citizens and law enforcement officers safe and accountable,” Rep. Polletta said. “Police-worn body cameras increase transparency, reduce allegations of improper conduct and allow department leadership to respond quickly and professionally when legitimate complaints are made.”

“The Bond Commission made the right call authorizing this grant,” Sen. Berthel said. “Our police officers have incredibly hard jobs. Hopefully these new body cameras will make their lives a little less difficult and increase trust and transparency between the force and the community.”

Once fully implemented, grants under this program will total $12 million statewide, including $2 million earmarked specifically for the state police.  To date, $5,068,469 has been approved.

Other municipalities that received reimbursement under today’s grant include: Coventry, Easton, Glastonbury, Ledyard, North Branford, Orange, Stratford, Watertown and Wethersfield.