New Body Camera Technology In Richland County Sheriff’s Department

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Officer accountability has taken a step forward as the Richland County Sheriff’s Department covers its deputies when it comes to the operation of body cameras.
RCSD just installed some new technology so when the gun comes out of the holster, the camera turns on.

“So it actually takes the human factor out of actually having to turn it on,” Leon Lott said, a sheriff with the department.

RCSD has had body cameras on them for a couple of months, but with this new technology, they can take the guess work out of whether or not it is turned on in a dangerous situation.

“When you remove your gun from your holster, your body camera’s going to turn on, and any other officer in the vicinity that’s got this body camera on, his camera is going to turn on too,” Lott said.

The installment of the Signal Sidearm sensors comes on the heels of a deadly police involved shooting in Minneapolis, where the officers had body cameras but they were not turned on.

“While wearing a body camera, but unfortunately not catching any of that footage, is really disappointing. And obviously something we never want to happen again,” Kirsten Paredes said, a product manager with Axon.

Sheriff Lott said it is just another step to make sure there is deputy accountability, and it is an easy way to build a stronger relationship with the community.

“This will help us. This will help us manage our deputies and make sure they’re doing the right thing all the time,” Lott said.

There are now 48 deputies with this technology drilled on to their holsters. The department is hoping this can provide the nuts and bolts for a more transparent department.

“I think this technology will only help facilitate that transparency between the agencies and the public,” Paredes said.

“It definitely provides the transparency the community is looking for. Our sheriff’s department has always been pretty proactive as far as technology. So we’re always looking, looking ahead,” Shanita Grimes said, a deputy with Richland County.

Richland County sheriff’s are one of 14 departments across the county testing this technology for two months before it’s unveiled later this year.