Seattle mayor says not enough money for body cams after $36K trip to Israel

The Seattle Police Department’s appointed monitor called for all police to be equipped with body cameras on Monday.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray says it’s going to be pricey.

“I’m committed all officers have body cams,” Murray told reporters. “We’ll have to work with the council on funding this, it’s not going to be cheap.”

Related: Jason Rantz says federal monitor is months late on SPD body cameras

But if he was really concerned with the city’s budget, why would he spend about $36,000 of taxpayer money for a trip to Israel? The mayor’s concerned the city doesn’t have enough funding for body cameras, but took a trip that is not essential to Seattle, KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson said.

“Oh, it’s not going to be cheap?” Dori asked. “You’re concern is you don’t have the money for this?”

Of course Dori is in support of police body cams. The topic has come up numerous times when he’s spoken with King County Sheriff John Urquhart.

Body cameras would allow for everyone to know what happened during a police-involved incident, instead of drawing out an investigation that might raise more questions than it can answer. They would keep “bad cops” from getting away with unjustified activity and allow “good cops” to avoid false accusations, Dori said.

But spending money on the police department seems to come second to the mayor’s travels.

“He had enough tax money to travel … But for something that is an essential part of public safety, now he’s concerned we don’t have enough money?” Dori asked. “Maybe if we didn’t blow the money that we have on things like the [trip to Israel], Mr. Mayor, maybe we could prioritize a little better.”