Not all Sheriff’s Offices have body or dashboard cameras

ROCK SPRING, Georgia (WDEF) – A recent case in Walker County involving gunfire exchanged between Sheriff’s Deputies and a suspect, highlighted the need for dash cameras.

Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson says that it’s not just the expense of the cameras themselves, but the cloud storage, and extra personnel to manage, store, and handle the recordings, that must be considered as well. But he sees it as a trend.

“Are juries wanting video and DNA in every case that they hear? I’m afraid we’re going in that direction. Does that mean that we in law enforcement have to follow suit? It may, the question may be yes if we want to keep up with the times and try to appeal to the understanding and the mindset of the people that we serve and the people that are listening to our cases,” Sheriff Wilson said.

Defense Attorney McCracken Poston, says that video doesn’t necessarily help either side of a case, but helps show what really happened.

“Human memory is not the best. It’s biased by beliefs, by what you hoped happened, what your position is of what happened, but a true video, with good audio, can be a great leveler for everyone,” Poston said.

Poston says it can help resolve cases faster too.

“It really helps the truth get out, and I think probably leads to less time in court, more cases being resolved fairly quickly,” Poston said.

Others we spoke with agree.

“When there’s a dispute between my word versus your word, you know, it actually shows what happened. So, it’s a good thing,” said Wes Talley, who is for dash cams.

“I’m for backing our local law enforcement people with all the tools and equipment that they possibly need, to do efficient law enforcement,” said Ray Burnfin, who is for dash cams.

But, Sheriff Wilson says the trend is moving away from dash cameras.

“With the invent of body worn cameras a lot of agencies now are putting their resources into body worn cameras,” Sheriff Wilson said.