VERMILLION CO, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — A local Sheriff’s Department has received funding to replace its equipment, some of which is decades old.
“It’s better for the officers safety-wise and it’s better for the community for us to have this equipment,” Vermillion County Sheriff Mike Holtkamp said.
According to Holtkamp, they approached the county in November of 2022 about getting funding for new body/dash cameras and tasers.
The Vermillion County Sheriff’s Department received:
- $24,000 from the Small Rural Tribal Body Cam Grant
- $12,000 toward tasers from the Vermillion County Local Coordinating Council for a Drug-Free Vermillion County
- $260,000 from Vermillion County government
“Our current body cameras that we’ve been using are outdated. We’re having maintenance issues where I have to send them in and get them repaired. And then the deputies are spending a lot of time downloading them,” Holtkamp said.
The new body and dash cameras will operate through Wifi, which Holtkamp said will save officers hours of download time.
“These cameras, we have to come in and plug in. And then if we get a call we have to run out without a body cam. If we unplug the old style, it corrupts the files if it’s trying to download,” Chad Hennis, Vermillion County Chief Deputy, said.
Nick Hall, Vermillion County Deputy Sheriff, said the tasers officers were using aren’t even recognized by the manufacturer anymore to be repaired if something breaks.
“The old tasers that we have, I don’t want to say the first but they’re one of the first that Axon put out. It’s the X26. It’s a weapon that taser actually says is a legacy weapon now,” Hall said.
The new dash and body cameras will automatically turn on during certain calls, when a taser or weapon is drawn when the lights activate on patrol vehicles, or if one of the vehicles is in an accident.
The new technology will also allow them to work with different law enforcement agencies, including Indiana State Police.
“It allows us, number one, to be able to communicate verbally but also using data as well. Our dispatch center can talk to their dispatch center and we can relay information to the officers immediately,” Sgt. Matt Ames with Indiana State Police, said.
Ames said it also allows different law enforcement agencies to share data, quickly.
“The most important thing is, is once we’re done recording an event, whether it’s criminal or whether it’s just an infraction, we upload that data to the iCloud immediately. We also share that data, we can share that data with other local law enforcement agencies, and we can also share it with the prosecutor’s office,” Ames said.
The Sheriff’s Department already has the body cameras and tasers, but they are still waiting on the dash cameras.
Holtkamp said the dash cameras will be installed in the next couple of months.
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