The Daviess County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday debuted some major technological upgrades, most notably the addition of body-worn cameras for every patrol member. They have also added BolaWraps (a deployable, wrap-around, non-shock rope to restrain combative subjects) and Stop Sticks tire deflation devices (a modern version of spike strips).
Sheriff Brad Youngman and several members of DCSO demonstrated the new equipment for media at Panther Creek Park.
The body-worn cameras and BolaWraps are manufactured and provided by the company Wrap Technologies, which specializes in innovative law enforcement technology solutions.
“The Wrap Intrensic X2 camera hardware and storage and data management capability, along with awareness of front-line operations, provides customers with a solution to meet the challenges,” the company’s website says about the camera system. “Wrap Intrensic Evidence on Cloud provides an unlimited video storage platform that includes video and other evidence uploading, search, retrieval, AI redaction, and evidence sharing while reducing the need for resources required to manage this evidence.”
Youngman said the cameras are small, lightweight, and water- and element-proof with a 12-hour run time. He said they are user-friendly and turn on with the push of a button.
All deputies have been trained on the body-worn cameras, which will start being used immediately. Youngman said DCSO policy calls for an officer to turn the camera on as soon as they arrive at a scene or are approached in public.
“Anytime you’re acting in an official capacity, you need to reach up and turn it on,” he said.
Asked if there would be a grace period to make sure the cameras are being used correctly, Youngman said he doesn’t think one will be necessary.
“I have confidence in my team,” he said. “They haven’t failed me yet. Over the last 18 months, everything we’ve asked them to do they’ve done at least to standard if not above. I fully anticipate all this will integrate into their daily routine perfectly.”
Youngman noted that he was especially excited about the evidence management and storage capabilities of the camera system.
“One of the things that we liked was how easily we can retrieve a video and how easily they redact it for us,” he said. “Their technology works really well with our dispatch CAD systems, where the deputy can take this off at the end of the shift and it wirelessly starts downloading right there in the office. Then he’s able to go into his dashboard, see the video he just uploaded, and he can put notes in it. He can click different hashtags such as marking it as a good video for training or saving it for court.”
Youngman said he can also assign administrative rights to third parties such as the County Attorney or Commonwealth’s Attorney so they don’t have to send requests for videos and can instead directly access them.
The cameras can also take still photos, another element Youngman said DCSO will be able to use on a daily basis. Officials said the camera has a 48-megapixel zoom (their current cameras are 10-12) and captures 1080p30 video and images.
“You can take it off of your chest and just start taking normal pictures,” he said. “A lot of times our evidence pictures are not the quality that we need them to be if we go to trial, but this camera takes great pictures.”
The BolaWrap is a remote de-escalation solution designed to provide a safe way to restrain an individual. Utilizing patented technology, it deploys a 7.5-foot Kevlar tether to temporarily restrain subjects from a distance of 10-25 feet.
DCSO officials stressed that while it could be used in the same situation as a taser might be used, the BolaWrap is a different approach to apprehending subjects. There is no charge emitted and virtually no injury risk, they said, and the device is instead an effort to limit mobility while attempting to handcuff a subject.
“When you have a suspect that is not complying … instead of walking over there and getting close to them, you just deploy the BolaWrap. It ties them up, you get hands on them quickly, you put them in handcuffs, and it’s done,” Youngman said.
The Stop Stick tire deflation device carries the same name as the company that makes it.
A deputy deploys the device by simply tossing it across the roadway and pulling the 80-foot cord to stretch the device out. Multi-directional spikes ensure correct deployment, as any side can be facing down, according to the company’s website.
The device uses hollow Teflon-coated quills acting as valves to release air at a controlled rate rather than causing a blowout, according to the company. A plastic housing surrounds the spikes to keep deputies safe during deployment and removal from the roadway.
Youngman said vehicle pursuits have always been dangerous — for the driver, passengers, law enforcement, and the public — but said there’s been an increased push over the last few years to change the method for apprehending fleeing subjects.
“There’s a new scrutiny on pursuits. It used to be that when a guy ran, you chased him,” Youngman said. “All across the country, there have been a lot of questions about why you were chasing them. There’s a lot of injuries. There’s a lot of questions that have to be asked about whether was it worth it and things like that.”
Youngman added, “Sometimes people need to be brought to justice, and if they don’t stop, that doesn’t mean we just go away. I want to give my guys an alternative so they can say, ‘look, I want to get this guy, but I don’t want to put people in danger and I don’t just want to let him go.’ It won’t solve all of our problems, but it is another tool available to us to try to do the best job we can and protect as many people as we can.”
Youngman said Stop Sticks are being added to all of DCSO’s cruisers.
Meanwhile, DCSO purchased 30 each of the body-worn camera units and BolaWraps. With 26 patrol deputies, that leaves a few spares that will be used by the investigations unit.
After approaching Daviess County Fiscal Court at the start of 2023 about his desire to make device upgrades and additions such as the body-worn cameras, Youngman spent all last year looking into various options.
Youngman said he budgeted $40,000 per year over 5 years to purchase just the cameras. He said they he was able to work with Wrap Technologies on the pricing to get the cameras and BolaWraps for $42,000 per year for 5 years.
The Stop Sticks were funded with money from drug seizures, Youngman said.
“We started the drug unit last year,” he said. “They’ve been pretty busy, and now a lot of those court cases are working their way through the system and a lot of the seized money is starting to make its way into our drug fund. That’s given us a little bit of flexibility on things that we can purchase that we don’t have to necessarily burden the taxpayer with.”
Youngman said he stayed away from grants because he prefers to use those for one-time purchases.
“I’m really reluctant — I think most executives are — to start a project that is meant to be an enduring project and to use grant money for it,” he said. “If the grant money runs out or you don’t get the grant, how do you pay for it then? With body cameras, we didn’t want to take the risk of starting them and then not having them one day. There’s a lot of community demand for it. We recognize how important they are and also how beneficial they are to us.”
