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Board reviews proposed body-worn camera policy, debates data access and ownership language
Summary
County staff presented a Lexipol-based draft body-worn camera policy, survey results showing majority support for cameras, a proposed activation standard, a cloud-based evidence workflow, and debated a clause describing footage as the 'sole property' of the sheriff’s office; the board asked for clarifications on data access and sample footage.
Grant County staff briefed commissioners on a proposed body-worn camera (BWC) policy, public-survey results and the planned rollout timeline. The presentation summarized survey responses (93 digital responses): roughly 84% supported deputies using BWCs, 77.4% felt BWCs would increase trust, and respondents were split on whether deputies or policy should decide activation.
A presenter described the proposed activation guidelines drawn from a Lexipol template: deputies should activate body-worn cameras during calls for service and while performing law-enforcement functions; casual or informal non-law-enforcement contacts need not be recorded. Interview rooms and fixed cameras will continue to be used for in-office interviews and booking; staff said recordings will upload automatically to evidence.com and be linked to case numbers for discovery.
Board members raised questions about data ownership and release. One commissioner highlighted draft language that referred to BWC media as the "sole property of the Sheriff’s Office" and asked whether that phrasing limited Grant County or the board’s access. Staff and others responded that the vendor (Axon) does not own the content and that data access remains governed by state data-practices laws; release decisions for law-enforcement recordings are routed through established legal and prosecutorial processes and typically involve the county attorney for discovery and public-records requests.
Commissioners requested that staff present sample footage at a future meeting to demonstrate camera clarity (including night footage) and asked for a schedule for training and deployment; staff listed initial training dates and said vendor and internal sessions are planned before full fleet installation. No formal policy adoption occurred at the session; staff said the policy would be finalized with procedural clarifications and returned for board consideration.
