Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery says he is all for his deputies wearing body cams, but he says a proposed piece of legislation, which makes the cameras mandatory, is poorly written and does not provide funding for the expensive equipment which means many departments wont be able to purchase them.
House Bill 1219 has been filed by Republican Representative Scott Richardson of Bentonville. It would require every officer to have a camera and have it recording when interacting with the public.
Sheriff Montgomery says there are two major reasons he, and other agencies in the state, are against the bill.
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Montgomery says the lack of funding is another big sticking point for many departments.
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The sheriff says in Baxter County, they would have to add two additional employees. That, along with the cost of the equipment, would cost the county $750,000.
Montgomery says price is just one of the reasons they don’t have body cameras for deputies.
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The Baxter County Sheriff says the disappointing part of the bill is its author did not confer with any law enforcement group.
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The Mountain Home Police Department does have body cams for their officers. Chief Eddie Griffin says they have had the cameras about ten years.
Click here to read House Bill 1219.
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