It's been two years since SFPD chief Greg Suhr said that the beginning of the department's body camera program was just two weeks away, as KQED reports in the 2015 explantory video above. And it's been five years since Suhr first mentioned that a body camera program was in the works. Why has it taken so long? Well, it's in part because the department has been embroiled in a few scandals, and it was only weeks after Suhr's 2014 promise about body cameras that the Alex Nieto shooting took place. Now, as KQED is reporting, the city has issued an "intent to award" letter for the body camera contract to Taser International

Meanwhile, a competitor, Digital Ally, which contracts with the Richmond Police Department for their body cameras, is complaining that they were unfairly shut out of the bidding process — the City of San Francisco told them they didn't have enough big-city contracts to be competitive — and they also have a patent lawsuit pending in federal court against Taser.

This means that SF could potentially be giving a lot of money to Taser International after Suhr and others have suggested that the SFPD needs to be equipped with Taser stun-gun devices as well. Suhr tried to make the case early on in the Mario Woods aftermath that if officers were armed with Tasers the shooting might not have taken place.

No contract for actual Tasers is yet in the works.

Previously: SFPD Shooting Of Mario Woods 'Could Have Ended Differently If We Had Tasers' Says Chief