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Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office to roll out body cameras for deputies

Cameras will have livestreaming capabilities, allowing supervisors to watch footage in real-time; 15 deputies already wearing them
Palm Beach County Ric Bradshaw discusses body-camera videos, Feb. 16, 2023
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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw held a news conference on Thursday as the agency prepares to roll out body cameras for deputies.

Earlier this month, the sheriff told WPTV that Palm Beach County deputies will begin wearing Axon body cameras by the end of February.

"At the end of the day, it's exactly what we wanted," Bradshaw said Thursday. "It took some time, but I think the time we took put us up to where we need to be."

WATCH: Sheriff Bradshaw discusses body cameras

Palm Beach County sheriff talks body cameras for deputies

Describing the cameras as "the best around," Bradshaw said the devices will have livestreaming capabilities, allowing sheriff's office supervisors to watch the footage in real-time and adjust tactics, if needed.

"When we have an incident where it demands [a supervisor] maybe gonna have to intervene, livestreaming lets them see in real-time what's going on," Bradshaw said Thursday. "So if it's not going the way we want it, then we can adjust to make it right."

RELATED: Livestreaming capabilities of body cameras raise privacy concerns

The cameras will also automatically turn on when a deputy draws his or her weapon, another critical feature for Bradshaw, who said the sheriff's office is now "ahead of the curve" when it comes to body camera technology.

The cameras, which took three years of logistics and planning because the agency is so large, will be rolled out in stages.

"We identified what we thought were the busier districts. We're rolling those out in 25 or 30 deputy increments," Bradshaw said.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office is one of the last, and also the largest, law enforcement agency in the county to equip law enforcement officers with body cameras.

Fifteen of the 21 law enforcement agencies in Palm Beach County have body cameras, according to the latest report by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

WATCH: Palm Beach County deputies will soon be outfitted with body cameras

Palm Beach County deputies will soon be equipped with body cameras

All uniformed personnel will wear a body camera, which supervisors will be able to watch at any point during the day through the sheriff's office's "Fusion Center," according to Bradshaw.

The sheriff said it will take a few months to install dash cameras and body cameras on all deputies.

Each deputy will go through an eight-hour training session, according to Bradshaw, before wearing the body cameras. He said the training will primarily consist of how and when to turn the camera on and off.

Last September, Palm Beach County commissioners approved the sheriff's office budget, which allocated more than $20 million toward body cameras and the technology needed to run them.

Mother Killed By Deputy Reacts To Body Cameras

"My heart fluttered," Vickie Williams said when she heard the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office was rolling out body cameras. "They’re finally doing what they need to do."

Williams lost her son, Tinoris Williams, nine years ago, after a PBSO deputy shot and killed him.

"In my son's situation, I think it would've changed because what the officer said happened, it would've been on camera."

Vickie Williams shares her thoughts after hearing the news about deputies being equipped with body cameras.
Vickie Williams shares her thoughts after hearing the news about deputies being equipped with body cameras.

Since then, the State Attorney's Office has ruled that the deputy was justified in his actions. However, Williams said the cameras would've told the full story.

"It speaks for the dead," she said. "I'm not here to beat down on officers, because we need them, but we've just got to help get rid of some of those bad officers."

Williams told WPTV she hopes her son is looking down on her, now knowing her fight wasn't for nothing.

"I would let him know it's finally here, you see it, and now I feel like my fight was not in vain," Williams said.