State troopers in Rhode Island will be getting a $3,000 stipend for wearing body cameras, under their new labor agreement.
The state's deal with Rhode Island State Police troopers includes the one-time payment to compensate for added duties related to the cameras, The Providence Journal reported.
A union for state troopers ratified the agreement on Friday.
Alana O'Hare, a spokesperson for Gov. Dan McKee, said a recent pilot program revealed that the body cameras added to troopers' duties.
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The camera program "represents a change in working conditions and adds additional duties and responsibilities to today's troopers and police officers,'' O'Hare told The Journal.
Last year, McKee signed a law to provide funding to equip all of the state's uniformed officers with body cameras. It was expected to cost $3 million a year over about five years, with an initial rollout to 1,700 patrol officers during the first year.
The new contract with troopers promises to pay the full $3,000 in "the second full pay period following ratification,'' according to The Journal.
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The agreement also includes pay increases of 2.5% for each year of the contract, and it provides time-and-a-half pay for troopers during public emergencies or when state offices are closed.
The McKee administration separately granted $3,000 in bonuses to members of Rhode Island's largest union for state employees. The bonuses initially were to be reserved for those who received COVID-19 vaccinations, but they were later awarded to all workers as retention bonuses
