All road patrol officers wear body cameras

During the year 2014, every deputy in the road patrol division of the Oconee Sheriff’s Office, along with two officers from the warrants division, were equipped with body cameras. It was May 2013 when the Sheriff’s Office began equipping deputies with the TASER AXON Flex body cameras. They can be clipped to the officers’ clothing or worn on a special set of glasses. Once the deputies are at the scene of a call, they can press a button to record every aspect of the call. Jeff Underwood, captain of the road patrol division, said, “One of the goals for implementing the program is to reduce the number of complaints on both sides of the camera – to improve behavior and relations from the citizens and officers alike.”