STANISLAUS COUNTY, Calif. — From now on, if you have a run-in with deputies in Stanislaus County, you'll likely be recorded. The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department started rolling out body cameras for the first time this month.
"Quite frankly, I think that our profession requires them and I think that the public expects them at this point," Sheriff Dirkse said.
Newly sworn-in Sheriff Jeff Dirkse made this one of his first priorities after he took office three months ago.
"I think that they will see the vast majority of the time, our cops, sheriff's department, any other organization out there, the cops are doing the right thing," he said, adding that past administrations found the cameras unnecessary.
"As a Sergeant here at the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department, we are ecstatic to have these videos," Sgt. Josh Clayton, a spokesman for the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department said. "All of our uniformed personnel should be wearing these cameras moving forward and they should be activating them anytime they have contact with the public that could result in any type of adverse encounter."
Once the cameras are put back into the docking station, the video will be stored digitally through evidence.com — and no matter what the interaction is, California state law requires a minimum of 180 days of storage.
But based on the category though, that could go up to 10 years to indefinitely, depending on the investigation, the department said.
The body cameras are a tool the department believes will work in their favor, potentially cutting down the number of future lawsuits and bringing a new level of transparency to the department.
"If anybody ever questions us, it's our intention to prove them wrong and show them that we are an organization with good people and honest people out there to serve the public," Clayton said.
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