CLEVELAND -- Across the country and in northeast Ohio, dramatic dashcam video has become an important tool, capturing DUI arrests, dramatic chases and tragic crashes.

But in Cleveland, the dash cams are not rolling, even though hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent, reported On Your Side chief investigator Duane Pohlman in an exclusive investigation.

Cleveland police spent that money for dashcams four years ago, but in a classic bureaucratic bungle, those cameras were unhooked because a pilot program ran out of money, Pohlman reported.

Cruisers are equipped with the best dashcam system money can buy, capturing the video and storing it on a computer hard drive. Cameras are also equipped with remote controls and wireless microphones.

But none of the high-tech cameras in Cleveland has been active in years.

According to records obtained by NewsChannel5, as part of a pilot program, the city purchased 25 dashcam systems in 2005, paying more than $18,000 a piece for a total of more than $266,000.

The cost stunned the president of Cleveland's police union.

"It's appalling -- $260,000 for 25 cameras is absolutely insane," said C.P.P.A President Steve Loomis.

But more surprising is that after only a few weeks on the road, all 25 cameras were unhooked after officials realized the project wasn't going to move forward.

The city failed to count on the extra costs to maintain the equipment and download the video, so the pilot program was mothballed until this year, when City Council approved updating the cameras and finally bringing them online.

The cost is $150,000 more.

"We do acknowledge the $150,000 is a direct result of having to revive the equipment," said assistant public safety director Norberto Colon.