Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Curiously, St. Johns County, St. Augustine & SAB lack police body cameras, UNLIKE Jacksonville, FWC and other NE FL law enforcement


Good budget news in St. Johns County means we have funds for body cameras. St. Johns County and its two cities lag behind other Northeast Florida jurisdictions with b body cameras, including Fernandina Beach, Palatka, Lake City, Jacksonville, Duval County, Bradford County and the Florida Wildlife Commission,  

Controversial St. Johns County Sheriff DAVID SHOAR'S budget must be enhanced with funds for body cameras. He told a debate audience in 2016 that cops don 't need to be watched, calling it a "false narrative."  What flummery, dupery and nincompoopery.

A budget is a moral document, as Sandra Parks says.

County and City Commissioners, please add money for police body cameras. 



800+ Florida FWC officers now wear body cameras

By: Jenna Bourne , Action News Jax 
Updated: 
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Division of Law Enforcement finished rolling out its body camera program last week.
Nearly all its 853 sworn members now have the devices, according to an agency spokesperson.
Last month, one FWC officer’s body camera captured video of a Florida panther trapped on the side of a highway.
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The panther had walked away from a South Florida wildlife refuge.
The body camera footage showed a driver who used her truck to help herd the panther back to safety.
In the future, those body cameras are likely to show the public more than just cranky panthers.
FWC officers can make arrests, execute search warrants, carry guns and seize wildlife.
They join five local law enforcement agencies in Northeast Florida with body camera programs.
Action News Jax looked through the Florida Deptartment of Law Enforcement’s most recent data on body cameras, which is from September 2018.
Here’s a list of which local agencies have them and which don’t, according to that data:
Police Departments:
Atlantic Beach Police: No
Fernandina Beach Police: Yes
Green Cove Springs Police: No
Jacksonville Beach Police: No
Lake City Police: Yes
Lawtey Police: No
Neptune Beach Police: No
Orange Park Police: No
Palatka Police: Yes
St. Augustine Police: No
St. Augustine Beach Police: No
 
Sheriff’s Offices:
Baker County Sheriff’s Office: No
Bradford County Sheriff’s Office: Yes
Clay County Sheriff’s Office: No
Columbia County Sheriff’s OfficeNo
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office: Yes
Nassau County Sheriff’s Office: No
Putnam County Sheriff’s Office: No
St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office: No
Union County Sheriff’s Office: No

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