TAMPA, Fla. — Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister on Monday unveiled the new body-worn cameras that uniformed patrol deputies will now wear in an effort to document interactions with the public, further existing community trust, and keep deputies safer.
Back in June, Sheriff Chronister went before the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners requesting body-worn cameras for the office. Commissioners approved funding for the equipment in a vote of 6-1.
"I am confident that body-worn cameras will further our commitment at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office of continuing to build trust through transparency," said Sheriff Chad Chronister. "This small device will be a big step forward in addressing calls for accountability among law enforcement."
CAMERA DETAILS —
— HCSO #teamhcso (@HCSOSheriff) August 17, 2020
•reliable & sturdy, less likely to fall off
•set to automatically activate in certain circumstances, like when a Deputy’s firearm or taser is removed from its holster
•the feed can be live streamed to supervisors during critical incidents pic.twitter.com/BoxldKFnIc
Training began last week and is a rolling process, the Sheriff's Office said.
Deputies wear them on the center of their chest and Chronister says the cameras are reliable and sturdy.
They automatically activate in certain situations, like when they remove weapons, and the feed can also be live-streamed to supervisors.
The sheriff said the goal is to have all of the cameras up and running by the end of September.
