Sheriff's office hoping for bodycams

FINDLAY — Smile! You may soon be on camera when interacting with county law enforcement. The Hancock County Sheriff's Office is one step closer to equipping its officers with body-worn cameras according to a Tuesday resolution from the Hancock County Board of Commissioners. Commissioners approved the sheriff's office to apply for grant funding to outfit 46 deputies with the technology. Commissioners met with Sheriff Michael Cortez in executive session last week to discuss the proposal. The county has applied for the grant, offered through the Ohio Department of Public Safety, in past funding cycles, but was not selected. A report seeking approval for the equipment estimates the cost to outfit sworn personnel with Axon cameras at $558,000, over five years, amounting to approximately $2,400 per year per deputy. The grant funds will cover the first two years of the program on a reimbursement basis, but can be reapplied for in future cycles. If approved, HCSO expects to start rolling out the cameras to staff early next summer. The agreement with Axon provides for two camera upgrades, occurring in 2029 and 2032. The signed resolution highlights the potential value of body-worn cameras to law enforcement investigations. "The Board has become aware … that (body-worn cameras) have been instrumental in efforts to enhance the safety of officers, deputies and the public, aid law enforcement personnel in quickly and accurately determining what has occurred in encounters between law enforcement and others, and generally aid law enforcement in the pursuit of justice," the resolution reads. "In today's society, not having body cameras is a detriment," Chief Dep. Tom Walker told The Courier Wednesday. He said he is excited about bringing body-cams to the county, saying they can increase deputy safety while improving accountability for both officers and members of the public. "It not only holds us accountable for our work and what we do," he said. "It also holds criminals accountable when their actions are caught on video." Walker said he also expects the cameras to add value to deputy training, agency transparency and will expedite investigations into personnel complaints. When deputies respond to high-risk calls, supervisors and administrators can view deputy body-camera footage in real-time to better make decisions about resource allocation through a livestream feature that gives command staff and dispatch real-time feeds and locations as incidents happen. Deputies can also initiate the feature through a "watch me" request, according to the grant proposal. Last year, HCSO responded to approximately 32,000 calls for service. "If we could lessen some of our investigative time by utilizing (the cameras), it's going to help dramatically," he said. "We'll be able to respond to and do more follow-up, do more investigations and respond to the needs of the community." The Hancock County Sheriff's Office chose to purchase Axon cameras in part because the company's infrastructure already exists in the community. Walker acknowledged that cheaper systems exist, but says Axon just made the most sense as the Findlay police and the Ohio State Highway Patrol already utilize the system. Not introducing a new system saves taxpayer dollars that would link other systems. Next door, at the Findlay Police Department, Chief Justin Hendren believes his officers have worn Axon body-cameras for approximately four years. He agrees the cameras have been a valuable tool to police operations and appreciates the objectivity camera footage provides. Law enforcement, he said, can be slow to adopt change, but after several years of using the cameras, taking them away would likely upset officers. Law enforcement agencies across the country have begun charging for public record requests that include body-cam footage to help cover the personnel costs associated with making required redactions. Findlay Police charge for footage at a rate of 1.5 times the length of the video, not to exceed $750 per request. Ohio House Bill 315, passed early last year, caps costs at $75 per hour of footage. Reporting from The Ohio Capital Journal includes comments from Gov. Mike DeWine, who said his concern was for small police departments in the state that may not have the personnel to quickly honor requests for footage. "No law enforcement agency should ever have to choose between diverting resources for officers on the street to move them to administrative tasks like lengthy video redaction reviews for which agencies receive no compensation - and this is especially so for when the requestor of the video is a private company seeking to make money off of these videos," DeWine told the Journal. "The language in House Bill 315 is a workable compromise to balance the modern realities of preparing these public records and the cost it takes to prepare them. Ohio law has long authorized optional user fees associated with the cost of duplicating public records and the language in House Bill 315 applies that concept in a modern way to law enforcement-provided video records." Walker said the county will likely charge for footage, though could not say what rate it would use. County administration is hopeful the grant request for Axon body cameras will be approved, a decision that could come as early as March 2027.