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NAACP and residents urge Middlesex supervisors to fund sheriff's body-worn cameras; stakeholders report due in July
Summary
Multiple public speakers on June 3 urged the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors to fund body-worn cameras for the sheriff's office; stakeholders committee reportedly made a final recommendation to adopt body cameras and will present findings at the July meeting.
Public commenters at the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors meeting June 3 urged the board to appropriate funds for body-worn cameras (BWCs) for the sheriff’s deputies and to fund associated staffing to manage digital evidence.
"Body worn cameras will not always deviate bad behavior, but they will help ... [and] hold a big accountability," said Dawn Moore, president of the NAACP Middlesex branch, who said the NAACP began advocating for BWCs in 2019. Moore asked the board to fund equipment, a body-worn-camera clerk position for the sheriff’s office, and an assistant commonwealth’s attorney.
Robert Jackson, a resident of Urbana, noted that "Middlesex is one of 15 counties" in Virginia without BWCs and urged the board to act now that the sheriff’s office has moved into larger facilities. "The time for police body cameras is past due," Jackson said.
County staff and board members said a stakeholders committee has been reviewing BWC options. During the meeting the clerk and staff confirmed the committee had made a final recommendation in favor of body-worn cameras; the board was told that a formal report and public hearing are scheduled for the July meeting. County Administrator Matt Walker was quoted earlier in the meeting as noting that funds for the project "are available and could be appropriated," a point repeated by public speakers who said Walker had indicated funding was available during a prior budget session.
There was no formal board vote on the matter at the June 3 session. The board directed staff to place the stakeholders’ final recommendation on the July agenda for formal consideration and possible appropriation.
The public commenters framed BWCs as tools for accountability, evidence gathering and improved relations between the sheriff’s office and the community, and asked the board to act now rather than delay the decision further.
