To the editor:

Framingham residents deserve the protection that police-worn body cameras ensure, so that justice is served properly.

Bodycams keep both police officers and the public safe from one another. And since body cameras were introduced elsewhere, unjust crimes and abuse by the police have greatly decreased.

The lack of leadership on this issue from our mayor is appalling. He has had two years to make police reform happen but has sat on the sidelines and made more excuses while waiting for the old labor contract to expire. The added foot-dragging has pushed back the acquisition, training and deployment of the cameras.

According to the grant proposal submitted to the state, the Framingham Police Department was to buy the hardware in October, implement a bodycam policy by November, train all of its officers by December and implement a pilot program of 30 bodycams by January.

Reform usually comes after a major crime has been committed, such as state troopers being charged this week with various crimes surrounding CDL licenses. The state police unit that tests drivers will now be required to wear bodycams.

Do we need to see another innocent Black man killed by police to mandate police reform here in Framingham? Perhaps that is the only way to force the mayor and the Framingham Police Department to comply with the police reform law of 2020.

Jim Pillsbury

Framingham

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Opinion: Framingham mayor, police slow to enact body camera program