
A phased rollout of body-worn cameras on police officers begins in early April, the Cambridge Police Department said Tuesday.
The department begins training officers this week on use of the cameras, and by early April nearly all sworn officers โ including command staff, supervisors, patrol officers and detectives โ are expected to be equipped with them as they perform their duties, according to a city press release.
Adoption of the technology was urged after a police officer shot and killed Arif Sayed Faisal on Jan. 4, 2023, near his Cambridgeport home. The 20-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant was cutting himself with a large knife as police pursued him through the neighborhood; he was shot by officer Liam McMahon after he did not drop the knife and advanced toward McMahon despite an effort to disarm him with a shot from a โless-than-lethalโ sponge projectile, police said.ย
A district court judge conducting an inquest found McMahon justified in the shooting, but the death sparked calls to change how the city responds to people in mental crisis, and for objective data to review from police encounters.
โWe recognize that public trust in law enforcement is built on accountability,โ city manager Yi-An Huang said. โThe launch of body-worn cameras demonstrates our commitment to ensuring officers and residents alike have confidence in the integrity of policing in Cambridge.โ
Union pushback
Police said late in 2023 that deployment of the cameras could occur early in 2024 โdepending on procurement of the hardware, software and training officers on the new technology,โ with the city paying a vendor from $1.6 million to $2.3 million for 300 cameras for five years, city councillors were told in a report. The current city capital budget includes around $1 million for the cameras, associated equipment and a first year of licensing and storage, city spokesperson Jeremy Warnick said. Annual licensing, data storage and staff time costs will move to the operating budget starting with the 2026 fiscal year.
Getting the cameras rolled out was slowed by conflict with police unions, despite union leaders saying publicly that they supported the change. The groups representing patrol and superior officers filed a complaint with the state Department of Labor Relations in 2023 saying the city โfailed to bargain in good faith regarding the decision to implement body cameras,โ Warnick said, quoting the cityโs human resources department. The unions lost in a July 10 decision as negotiations around deployment went on; an appeal was canceled with an agreement between the city and unions, Warnick said Tuesday.
With the conflict resolved, officers will be equipped with cameras made by Axon and use the companyโs software for video storage, retrieval and case management, the city said.
โAbout strengthening trustโ
The police department is also installing surveillance cameras in Central Square for a test ahead of a broader rollout. The surveillance cameras are supposed to be running sometime this month, a department spokesperson said at the end of 2024.
โThe introduction of body cameras is an important step in our ongoing efforts to build trust and strengthen partnerships between our officers and the community,โ commissioner Christine Elow said. โI have great confidence that the adoption of body cameras will have a lasting, positive impact.โ
Cambridge mayor E. Denise Simmons called the implementation of body cameras โan important moment.โ
โThe implementation of body-worn cameras is about strengthening trust between the Cambridge community and the officers who serve it. This program is part of our larger commitment to public safety, transparency and accountability,โ Simmons said.
Community questions about the program can be addressed toย pio@cambridgepolice.org, police said.


