Still shot from a promotional video for Watch Guard Vista HD cameras.

On Tuesday evening the Eureka City Council will consider purchasing 40 body cameras for officers with city’s police department, a move that Police Chief Andy Mills said would improve transparency and accountability in the department.

Staff is recommending buying the tech gadgets, namely Watch Guard Vista HD cameras. The city notes in its staff report that body cameras can help to de-escalate conflicts, “resulting in more constructive encounters between police and members of the community,” while also helping to collect evidence to assist in prosecutions.

In a phone conversation earlier today, Mills said the department has been working toward this goal for more than a year. “We wanted to make sure the policy was right, that the officers understood the reasoning and were comfortable with that, and that the implementation was thorough,” he said.

Mills added that his officers spent several months testing different makes and models of body cameras and liked the Watch Guard option best. (Check out the promotional video below for a rundown on all the bells and whistles.)

In fact, the Eureka Police Department is so enamored of the video cameras that is has concluded that it must dispense with the bidding process and move straight to buying them. The cost, which is just shy of $61,000, includes the cameras plus equipment, software, testing and training. As justification for the no-bid purchase the city cites Eureka Municipal Code section 39.43 (D), which says, “Bidding shall be dispensed with where bidding would be impossible, impractical, or incongruous; in an emergency; [or] when the commodity can be obtained from only one vendor … .”

The department already uses Watch Guard brand cameras in patrol cars, and since the body cameras use the same data-storage system, buying this particular brand of body-cam would allow the EPD to avoid buying or developing duplicate services and equipment, according to staff.

If the city elects to outfit its officers with these cameras, Eureka ‘s police department would join Rio Dell’s and Ferndale’s, which already wear them. Mills said that, if the cameras get approved and they’re not on back-order, they should arrive in less than a month and be implemented immediately.

Check out the Watch Guard Vista HD in action: