Boone County considers body cameras

The Boone County Sheriff’s Department wants to put cameras on its deputies. Sheriff’s officials said with any new technology, the department spends considerable time evaluating its options. “We’re in the information collection stages and there’s a number of factors to consider when buying theses cameras,” said Detective Tom O’Sullivan with Boone County Sheriff’s Department.

Boone County Sheriff’s officials said they’ll consider many brands before making a decision. They said they’re currently waiting for a demo camera to test. The manufacturer is L3 Mobile-Vision. The department already uses the company’s dash-board cameras in its cruisers. Sheriff’s officials said if they use this particular brand, it would fit into the department’s existing technology infrastructure. Officials said the cameras will be used as another set of eyes to enhance documentation. “Technology is the wave of the future. If you don’t keep up you get pushed aside and body cameras can help you in that one incident out to a thousand,” said O’Sullivan.

Officials said the budget for the cameras has not yet been decided. They said it will at least be a year before deputies will be fitted with the body cameras.