PUEBLO, Colo. — Pueblo Police officers are all getting new guns, but it’s the technology on the holsters they say is up and coming.

The Pueblo Police Department (PPD) is using new technology to serve and protect. The equipment will trigger body cameras to turn on when officers draw their weapons.

“At any time an officer could be confronted with something, and they might not have the thought to react and touch their body camera, they might just have to react to the threat so therefore if they pull their gun it’s going to go ahead and take care of that, it’s one less thing they have to think about,” Corporal Jeff Furney said.

Cpl. Furney is a firearms instructor who claims the sensors are some of the most innovative technology on the market. PPD purchased 250 9mm Glock handguns, along with holsters, lights, and magazines for about $168,000. That money came from the asset forfeiture fund which is seizures from drug busts.

The body cameras will start recording 30 seconds before the body camera signals it is capturing. The recordings from body camera video can be key pieces of evidence if and when a case goes to trial.

“It goes both ways it shows why they are doing what they are doing, why they are doing what they are trained to do,” Cpl. Furney explained. “It captures the suspect and what they are doing cause that is what the officer is seeing, he or she might not be able to put it into writing but the body camera captures it exactly as it happens.”

This new technology aims to protect officers when they don’t have time to physically touch the body camera on.

“When an officer is walking down the sidewalk minding his own business, not on a call, but he is confronted with something instantly that triggers him based on his training to draw his gun to defend himself or defend someone else that gun comes out the body camera comes on,” Cpl. Furney added.

So far, PPD has not had any issues with the new technology but they do not expect it to perform perfectly every single time. These guns are one less expense for PPD officers. Before this, the officers had to buy their own guns to use on the job.