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Minnesota

State police department implements cameras on guns

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A police force in a Minneapolis suburb is outfitting its officers with cameras mounted on their handguns amid calls for more transparency in police shootings.

The West Hennepin County Safety Department said the cameras are significantly less expensive than body cameras. Police Chief Gary Kroells said 10 officers from the department will carry the guns, which will bring the cost for the cameras to $7,200.

The department tested the weapon-mounted cameras over the past year as part of a pilot project, the Star Tribune reported.

The 3-inch (76-millimeter) long camera sits in front of the trigger and includes a flashlight. The camera activates as an officer draws their gun from its holster. The cameras will capture fatal force encounters and also provide information on how and why officers are using their guns, Kroells said.

Willmar man pleads guilty to illegal arsenal of weapons

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Willmar man accused of illegally possessing a large cache of weapons has pleaded guilty in federal court.

Forty-six-year-old Chad Monson was arrested during a Jan. 30 raid of his rural Kandiyohi County home by drug and gang task force agents.

A federal grand jury in June indicted him on numerous firearms violations related to an arsenal of machine guns, ammunition, silencers and pipe bombs.

The U.S. attorney’s office says Willmar pleaded guilty on Thursday. A sentencing date wasn’t immediately set.

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