Greenwood Police need equipment

New cars, Tasers and body cameras are all on the Greenwood Police Department’s wish-list, but city officials aren’t sure yet how to pay for about $500,000 in new equipment.

Every year, ammunition and body armor is routinely replaced for officers, Greenwood Police Chief John Laut said.

But this summer, police and city officials also are trying to budget for new vehicles, which is expected to cost more than $200,000. Five to seven police cars have more than 100,000 miles and need to be replaced, Laut said. New police cars cost about $33,000 each after equipment is installed and decal work is done, Laut said.

The department also needs new Tasers, since the current ones are between 10 and 15 years old and are no longer made, Laut said.

Officials are looking into a program to buy new body cameras, which would also come with new Tasers. The Tasers and body cameras would be synced so that the camera would record when the Taser was pulled out.

The new Tasers and cameras, plus unlimited video storage for the video, is expected to cost about $300,000 over five years.

“The technology is great — it’s a great idea,” Mayor Mark Myers said. “But where are we going to get that funding?”