Lee County commissioners weigh in on new LCSO body cameras

Reporter: Jolena Esperto Writer: Matias Abril
Published: Updated:
body camera
New body cameras for LCSO (CREDIT: Lee County Sheriff’s Office)

Last week, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office announced they are outfitting deputies with body cameras.

Two commissioners responded for the first time about approving the budget to purchase the new body cameras.

They said this is going to be a useful tool for deputies and the community as Lee County grows.

“We do try to obviously look at the top line budget and make sure it fits with what the greater community needs are,” said LCSO commissioner Brian Hammon.

There will be a total of 615 state-of-the-art Motorola V-700 LTE body-worn cameras given to LCSO.

Sheriff Carmine Marceno said the cameras are coming because now is the right time, it is cost-effective and he wants to catch up with the technology.

“So the sheriff did that to improve the safety for his officers and also for the community. We know how important that body camera comes into place, and most [of the] time, 99% [of the] time, it helps exonerate the police departments or sheriff’s,” said Cecil Pendergrass, a Lee County commissioner.

The cameras will be worn by deputies, K-9s and corrections personnel in high-liability areas.

“We want to support our sheriff’s office as the population continues to grow, and as new techniques and law enforcement are adopted, we want to make sure that our sheriff’s office has all the tools they need to support this community because keeping this a safe community is the number one reason why people move here,” Hammon said.

A big question remains: How will the technology come to Lee County? There is no deadline for when every deputy will have them.

Hammon said commissioners do not get to see in detail the exact items they budget but rather what they budget for law enforcement and what they budget for corrections.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.