Grant County Sheriff to double body camera program

EPHRATA - Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones says body cameras on his deputies help boost public confidence and are a useful tool to "keep both sides protected" if a conflict arises between a deputy and citizen.

County commissioners recently approved the purchase of 10 additional body cameras, raising the total number of department cameras to 20. Jones said he hopes to have every deputy suited with a body camera at some point.

"In our line of work we get substantial complaints about deputies," Jones said. "(The cameras) help to alleviate those complaints as well as protect citizens."

Jones said because a body camera can objectively show how a deputy and citizen act during a call for service or traffic stop, they could eliminate frivolous complaints and remind the deputy that if he acts rude his boss could find out.

Jones said deputies are required to turn the camera on during contact with the public and keep it rolling until that contact ends. He said if a deputy turns the camera off early to possibly conceal part of the conversation, that deputy would face disciplinary action.

He said deputies do tell members of the public they are being recorded, and people are generally okay with being filmed by the deputy.

"It is something that protects both sides," he said.

Deputies are allowed to film in private homes without consent from the homeowners, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said last week.

Jones said that decision does not change how Grant County deputies use body cameras, because they were already recording inside people's homes without getting permission.

Jones said he has not received any complaints from the public about the body cameras in the two years deputies have been using them.

He said he has not decided whether to purchase the body cameras from Huntleigh USA, a Las Vegas-based security company that recently agreed to place and monitor 18 security cameras around the county.

Jones said prosecutors seeking jail time for offenders could use the footage from the body cameras during court proceedings.

The footage is especially helpful during domestic violence investigation prosecution, because it shows the extent of injuries that a victim of domestic violence sustains, Jones said.