This shooting in Wilmington, Ohio was caught on tape by a video camera in an officer's car. The Roanoke City Police Department is among several police forces across the country using the hi-tech help to record evidence, and identify suspects. The camera starts recording automatically when an officer turns on the blue lights. The officer can also trigger the camcorder with a remote - which has a mic attached to record sound up to 1500 feet away. The camera records the date, time, and vehicle number.
Every tape is categorized and held as evidence.
And once something is recorded - only a supervisor has access to the tape. The camcorder may not be as good as a partner - but with many Roanoke officers traveling the streets alone, Sergeant Boyer says these cameras are welcome assistants. One wreck happened at the main Roanoke exit and involved six vehicles. A car having trouble merging from Interstate 5-81 stopped suddenly, causing a chain reaction. One driver in that accident has been charged with improper stopping.