Findlay sets sights on body cameras for police

Local law enforcement could be equipped with body cameras by 2023, according to Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn. Muryn said city officials are currently developing a proposal that would make it policy for all city police officers to be outfitted with both body and vehicle dashboard cameras. "We expect this proposal to be reading for a deep dive by mid-2022, with the goal of implementation by 2023. We are still in the early stages of planning and have many questions that still need to be answered," said Muryn. While the Findlay Police Department is taking the lead in the planning, Muryn said a similar policy for the Hancock County Sheriff's Office is still part of the discussion. Both Findlay Police Chief Robert Ring and Hancock County Sheriff Michael Heldman have said they would support the use of the cameras. The police department and sheriff's office already operate a joint records system and work together on dispatching. On Nov. 23, Gov. Mike DeWine announced an initiative that will equip all of Ohio's troopers with body cameras. About $15 million will be spent to distribute and install about 1,550 body cameras and 1,221 in-car cameras, to be synced with dashboard and rear-seat cameras already used by the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Ohio's latest state budget includes $10 million to help local law enforcement agencies purchase the cameras. According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, the cost of body cameras remains the primary concern for municipalities. As of 2016, about 80% of large departments, with 500 or more full-time officers, had body cameras. Fewer than 31% of small police departments, with part-time officers, did. The Findlay Police Department employs 64 officers, not counting dispatchers or parking enforcement. "I am fully supportive of the governor's decision to implement body cameras across the Ohio State Highway Patrol and understand that this equipment will soon be a regular piece of our officers' uniforms," Muryn said. The idea of outfitting Findlay's police officers with the cameras is not new. The issue was a political hot button in 2015, after the June 9, 2015, police shooting of Jeremy Linhart, of Findlay. No criminal charges were returned against the two Findlay police officers involved in the shooting; however, the incident garnered a great deal of scrutiny in the community. It was argued then that dash cameras and body cameras may have helped to exonerate or prosecute the officers. But then-Police Chief Greg Horne said the cameras were unnecessary, and former Mayor Lydia Mihalik said they were too expensive. The idea was also discussed by the police department in the mid-1990s, without much support. Grant: 419-427-8412