John Tory says all Toronto Police should be wearing body cameras by the fall

Toronto's mayor announced today that all the city's police officers could be wearing body-worn cameras by the fall. 

In response to mounting pressure on the City to make body cameras mandatory — a process which has dragged on for several years following its introductory pilot project in 2016 — Mayor John Tory said in a briefing today that it could happen in a few months. 

"We're doing everything we can to fast-track body cameras for all Toronto police officers," he said. 

Tory said he's working with TPS Chief Mark Saunders and Toronto Police Services Board Chair Jim Hart on getting the cameras installed as soon as possible. 

The finaly approval would hopefully go through at the Police Board meeting in July, with the goal of having them on police officers by autumn. 

So far, a petition addressed to Mark Saunders demanding body cameras be worn and turned on by Toronto Police officers has garnered more than 95,500 signatures out of its 150,000 goal since it was launched earlier this week. 

No further details have been released by the City or TPS regarding the budget allocated for the body cameras.