Public safety committee reports Axon body cameras in use; city outlines hiring and school-resource-officer plans

The Woodland public safety committee reported at the March 17 council meeting that body-worn cameras supplied by Axon have been in use for about a month and that in-car cameras have been ordered, with staff expecting them to be operational by April.

Committee representatives said the department had a new hire, Trevor Eads, a lateral officer with prior service in Longview and Cowlitz County corrections, who will begin field training and then transition to the detective position. The committee reported three open positions remain: two new positions funded this year and one remaining school-resource-officer (SRO) vacancy.

Why it matters: Council members described the SRO position as budgeted for the coming school year and said staff are working with the school district and the police guild to finalize a memorandum of understanding that will define the SRO’s duties and limits. Council emphasized that the MOU must reconcile what the school district expects from the role and what the police guild considers appropriate for an officer assigned to schools.

Committee members also noted community outreach: officers spoke to a senior group about scams, and the chief’s office is coordinating recruitment and field-training schedules. The public-safety committee holds its next meeting on April 21 at 5:30 p.m., and the council will swear in Detective Trevor Eads at its April 7 meeting.

No policy decision was required March 17; the meeting served as a report-out and staff-direction item for further MOU work and recruitment.