Santa Cruz County sheriff issues body-worn cameras

With just one click, Santa Cruz County deputies will be able to capture interactions with the community through new body worn cameras.

“What’s unique is we’re actually able to capture things that we’ve never been able to capture before,” said Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Son Leonetti.

“It’s a huge part of our desire to be transparent and objective as possible,” said Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Chris Clark. “We understand that the community wants to know what we do.”

Wednesday’s training for patrol staff completed the body camera roll out for about 150 department-wide. Late last summer, a handful of cameras were issued during a test run and about 75 were trained two weeks ago.

“I think the fact that they’re carrying cameras, I think is going to be a little bit better,” said Aldo Rocha of Watsonville. “Just the fact that if they abuse somebody it’s going to be on camera.”

“I think it’s unfortunate that you can’t really trust somebody that’s supposed to be there to help you,” said Santa Cruz resident Tiane Scott. “So hopefully things can get fixed.”

Once turned on, the cameras will pick up HD video and audio for anything from traffic stops to use of force during their entire shift.

“I did get into a foot pursuit where I actually chased someone down,” said Leonetti. “I was able to activate the recording so that’s great evidence to use later for court.”

Officials said footage containing evidence will be stored for two years. Depending on the nature of the case they could keep it indefinitely.

“Deputies will upload video after their shift and that is stored on the Cloud storage system,” said Clark.

Footage can be retrieved for investigations and civil litigation.

“We don’t manipulate the video,” said Mike Pisciotta, Regional Manager for VieVu/Body Worn Cameras. “When it’s into low light, it’s really picking up what the officer is seeing.”

The department also said they gathered input about the cameras from the NAACP, ACLU and other organizations.

ORIGINAL STORY: Sheriff’s deputies in Santa Cruz County are getting new gear in the form of body-worn cameras. Some of the cameras are already in use, and a second wave is about to hit the streets.

On Wednesday, deputies received training in how their cameras work.

The Sheriff’s Office says the new cameras are an important part of its pledge of transparency and accountability.

KION reporter Maya Holmes attended today’s training session and tonight at 6 p.m., she will show us how the program is expected to work.