The Colorado State Patrol has started rolling out body-worn cameras for its officers throughout the state, with full implementation expected in 2023.

The cameras are currently being deployed in State Patrol District Four, including nearly a dozen counties in the northwest corner of Colorado. The State Patrol anticipates it will finish setting up the cameras statewide by March 1.

In Colorado, all law enforcement agencies are required to fully implement body cameras by July 1, 2023 – thanks to Senate Bill 20-217, which the state legislature passed in June of 2020.

Under the bill, local law enforcement agencies and the State Patrol must issue body cameras to their officers – except those working in jails, in courtrooms, as administrative or civilian staff or as the executive detail of the State Patrol. Officers must wear and activate the cameras when responding to a call for service or when initiating any interaction with the public.

“As law enforcement continues to change and adapt to the communities we serve, the Colorado State Patrol has embarked on the implementation of body-worn cameras in addition to our pre-existing in-car camera systems,” the State Patrol said in a statement. “While no small task, the Colorado State Patrol is currently on track to complete their statewide rollout ahead of the deadline.”

The bill was announced in June of 2020 following six straight days of protests in Denver in response to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer who knelt on his neck for nine minutes. Supporters of the bill said it would improve police accountability.

In addition to requiring body cameras, the legislation made numerous other changes, including prohibiting officers from using chokeholds, requiring officers to intervene when another officer is using unlawful physical force and limiting law enforcement from shooting pepper spray, tear gas and non- or less-lethal projectiles into crowds of protestors.