A traffic altercation between a Chicago politician and a police officer has prompted officials to approve testing video surveillance cameras in squad cars. Cameras that record video on a computer hard drive will be installed in a dozen police cars at a cost of about $5,000 each, in a pilot program following a July incident involving Illinois state Sen. James Meeks. Meeks claimed he was threatened, had a gun pointed at him and was berated by a foul-mouthed officer. Police Superintendent Phil Cline said cameras in patrol cars would ensure racial profiling does not happen in traffic stops. The cameras will be evaluated after the winter. "Recording stops makes everybody safer and accurately documents what takes place," Cline told the Chicago Tribune. Following an internal police investigation, the officer who stopped Meeks was reprimanded for using foul language but was not suspended or disciplined. © Copyright 2005 by United Press International

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