TAMPA, Fla. — The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office started rolling out its new body cameras Monday.
Deputies will be equipped with the cameras, which automatically start recording when emergency lights go on or when the deputy draws a weapon.
For all their technical features, the cameras provide the kind of transparency and accountability demonstrators have demanded.
“Having video evidence will provide clarity for everyone and will also hold all parties accountable,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said.
Chronister says they chose the Axon Body 3 cameras because of their reliability and stability compared to shoulder or eyeglass mounted models. Also, they use a more-affordable cloud-based system to record and store the video,
“As soon as they turn on their emergency equipment in the car, the camera is activated. Again, I thought this was a great feature that I found a lot of comfort in. This will help reduce the likelihood of any type of human error,” Chronister said.
The five-year, $14 million project also includes three full-time employees to properly catalog and distribute the video, which the sheriff promises to make available to the public.
Deputies can turn the cameras off, but the sheriff says they better have a good reason to do that -- or face discipline.
“The fact that we wanted to be more accountable, we wanted to be more transparent, it made that decision that much easier,” Chronister said.
“This is a good moment for Hillsborough County,” said Yvette Lewis, president of Hillsborough‘s NAACP chapter.
Lewis said the body cameras were one of their key demands earlier this summer. There’s still a long way to go, she says, but considers the body cam program a big step toward repairing trust.
“It tells their story and it tells our story,” Lewis said. “But the truth will come out when the camera’s there. Because the cameras don’t lie.”
The sheriff’s office says some deputies will start wearing the body cameras immediately and then more on a rolling basis as they receive the training and equipment.
Ideally, Chronister says, everyone will be wearing them by the end of September.
Chronister says the cameras are more than just a source of transparency. He says agencies that have implemented body cam programs have seen a reduction in the number of use-of-force incidents and citizen complaints.
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