As of Monday, the Sheriff’s Office began using body worn
cameras. Most uniformed deputies will be required to wear the cameras as a
routine part of that uniform. All members who will be using the cameras completed
their training last week.
The Sheriff’s policy requires they be worn by road patrol
deputies and sergeants, school resource deputies, civil deputies, traffic
deputies, airport deputies and sergeants and detectives when they are in
uniform. Detectives may also wear them when in plain clothes.
“We are confident these cameras will help to enhance deputy
safety and trust between the community and the agency,” said Sheriff Rick
Ramsay. “Having video and audio recordings of our interactions with the public
can only help us when it comes to our interactions with people in the field. It
will reassure the public and our officers that we are open, honest and
professional in the way we deal with people on a day to day basis and, if we do
have training issues we need to deal with, it will help us to identify those
issues so we can take care of them quickly.”
The Sheriff’s Office has had in-car video cameras and
body-worn microphones for years and the agency’s experience has been that
having more information, and clear evidence, can only help when it comes to law
enforcement.
“We have had many instances where video from our in-car
cameras has served to clarify the way an incident unfolded,” said Sheriff
Ramsay. “We expect the new body-worn cameras to simply enhance these benefits.
Oftentimes having video of an incident helps to deescalate both sides of a
confrontation,” he said.
Before putting the cameras in the field, the Sheriff’s
Office Professional Standards Unit spent considerable time reviewing policies
from other agencies and writing a comprehensive policy about the use of the
cameras. The Sheriff’s Office Training Unit put together a four-hour block of
training which all officers must attend before using the cameras. The training
addresses everything from the way the cameras should be worn to the content of
the policy and the mechanics of the camera itself.
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