While many police officers in South Carolina are paid less than $40,000 a year, the state has the resources to purchase body cameras.
According to Indeed, the average salary for a police officer in South Carolina is $28,000.
Law EnforcementEDU.net, however, reported from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ “Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-2013 Edition” that police and sheriff’s patrol officers have a median salary of $37,260.
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Detectives and superiors make much more than that, with median salaries of $46,640 and $50,600 respectively.
According to U.S. News & World Report, the BLS reported the median salary for patrol officers is $56,130.
Although South Carolina officers are paid well below that, the state government is requiring all
police to wear body cameras, Tech Times reported.
The mandate is not an inexpensive request. For Richland County alone, the stations need $1.2 million to
purchase the cameras, WISTV reported.
The law for filming police comes after Walter Scott was shot by North Charleston Police Officer Michael Slager during a traffic stop,
according to News.Mic.
Slager was indicted by a grand jury and could face 30 years to life in prison. A graphic video that was filmed by a pedestrian is a key piece of evidence
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The North Charleston Police Department has since fired Slager as he is held in custody,
WCSC reported.
The body camera mandate went into effect July 1, but
according to WRDW, state rules will not be available for another six months and several police stations do not have the equipment yet.
For now, departments have their own policy for using the cameras. In North Augusta, officers are permitted to record based on their own judgement.
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