OC Sheriff’s Deputies wearing New Technology

Oconee County Sheriff’s Office deputies began wearing some new technology late last week that will hopefully help to reduce instances of officer complaints and use of lethal force. The new technology is on-officer video cameras made by TASER International, called the AXON Flex system.  The cameras can be clipped to the officers clothing or worn on a special set of glasses made by Oakley, Inc.  Once the deputy is sent to the scene of a call, they can then press a button on a unit that is carried on their body to record every aspect of the call.  The video is uploaded to EVIDENCE.COM, which is an evidence management system, where it is recorded and stored.  The website will provide all the data storage that the Sheriff’s Office needs.  The video evidence itself belongs to the Sheriff’s Office.  The video gives the person watching the point of view from the deputies’ perspective.  The cameras will be worn by deputies at all times while they are on duty, primarily by the Road Patrol division. “The cameras will also help to expand our evidence collection,” according to Captain Jeff Underwood of the Road Patrol division of the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office.  “Typically an in car camera only gathers about 15% of what a deputy actually sees because the scope of the view is limited to the front of the vehicle.  We spend most of our time doing things other than traffic stops, such as answering calls at residences.  This way with the camera on the officer, the video is right there with them. The camera system has other fringe benefits, such as clearing up any officer complaints maybe to the extent of dismissing any litigation that may come up. If you have video evidence of what actually happened, it gives a much more definitive answer.  Most lawsuits that are ever filed are settled out of court with some type of payment to avoid the long term litigation cost.  If you have evidence to the contrary then you are a lot more willing to fight that lawsuit.  It could save taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, in a worst case scenario perhaps millions of dollars.  If you have evidence of justified lethal force, then you can fully back that officer and fight that claim.  Once individuals know they are being videoed, then their behavior changes.  Suspects tend to be a lot less belligerent.  It also holds parties accountable, officer and suspect alike or whoever they are talking to.  If you take people to jail, you are going to make them mad; sometimes their opportunity for retaliation is to file a false complaint.  With the video, they know they don’t really have an opportunity to file a false complaint, unless they want another charge of filing a false police report.” The purchases of the cameras were actually made possible by the Edward Byrne grant, which is a federal grant through the Department of Justice.  The money in the grant could only be used for the purchase of video equipment.  The cost of 10 camera systems and the use of evidence.com for one year was just over $12,000.