The police force got a well-needed upgrade to their equipment: new body cams to not only protect themselves, but citizens as well.

This new trend of body cams has been on the rise, and it has finally reached Sioux Falls. Officer Jason Larsen was one of the few who started using the body cam here in Sioux Falls.

“Within the first day of having my body cam, I was already using it up at an elementary school,” said Larsen.

Body cams have decreased the gray area between officers and perpetrators either in the form of police brutality or even abuse to the men in blue. It has created a better sense of protection for officers and citizens alike.

“They also help to protect me. Say I’m dealing with a student or a parent and they say the officer was rude; he was yelling and swearing at me. My adviser can go back and look and say, ‘No this did not happen.’ This type of complaint happens a lot, especially for patrol officers, and the adviser reviews the car footage. It helps protect us,” said Larsen.

The body cam acts like another eye and it allows for a clearer sense of what has happened, either caused by officer or perpetrators. With this the blurry line has come into new light so there is no longer a ‘blame game.’

“I think it’s a good tool for us. Prior to now, we have never been able to previously record an incident in the building. This allows us to have more evidence for later on down the road. Say if something has to go to court, if there was a fight and we are charging someone with simple assault and we have video of the assault to be viewed by judges, jury, attorney, this can help with the process,” said Larsen.

It may also be helpful to understand why police officers are able to record citizens without telling them in the first place.

The South Dakota Summary of statute(s) states: “An individual who is a party to either an in-person conversation or electronic communication, or who has the consent of one of the parties to the communication, can lawfully record it.”

Correction: 9/27/18

An earlier version of this story included minor grammatical errors. The title of the story has also been changed for clarity.