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Better late than never. The Plantation Police Department is finally equipping its officers with body-worn cameras.
“These cameras will be utilized during citizen interactions, traffic stops, calls for service, and other enforcement activities,” Plantation Police posted on Facebook on October 9. “The purpose of this program is simple: to strengthen trust, accountability, and transparency between our officers and the community. We want you, our community, to feel confident in knowing that your police department is committed to openness, professionalism, and continual improvement.”
The department was one of the last law enforcement agencies in South Florida to use body-worn cameras. While the Miami Beach Police Department was the first agency in South Florida to adopt body-cameras in 2016, following the national uproar over the police killings of Black men, other police departments dragged their feet. Over the last five years, police departments in Coral Gables, Davie, and Hollywood have adopted the long-awaited technology.
“Welcome to 2025 PPD,” one user commented on the Facebook post.
A user added, “How is this just starting? I would assume this was all over the place ten years ago?”
Another comment reads, “Cameras are great! I am surprised you didn’t had [sic] them before. Stay safe out there🩵.”
Florida Highway Patrol troopers, who now conduct immigration arrests, still do not have body cameras, opting for dash cameras instead. According to a 2024 Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) report, Brevard, Citrus, Clay, Dixie, Gadsden, Glades, Gulf, Hernando, Levy, Liberty, Polk, Sarasota, Union, and Washington Sheriff’s Offices also lack body cameras.
But having body cameras doesn’t always mean the officers are using them. A 2023 review of the City of Miami’s Civilian Investigative Panel case investigations found that at least 18 Miami Police Department officers had been cited for breaching the department’s body-worn camera policy. Most of the violations stemmed from officers either muting their cameras while responding to incidents or failing to activate them at all.
Similarly, following the fatal shooting of 59-year-old Osvaldo Cueli on his Redland farm back in November 2023, one of the arriving officers from the Miami-Dade Police Department turned off the mic just five minutes into his body camera footage. The remaining 46 minutes did not have audio.
