Huron County Sheriff's getting body cameras

NORWALK — For the first time in the department's history, all Huron County sheriff's deputies will be equipped with body-worn cameras.The Huron County Sheriff's Office plans to roll out 19 GoPro body cameras for its road patrol deputies, along two spares, on Feb. 11, Huron County Sheriff Todd Corbin said.Corbin said he wanted to bring in the technology to his traditionally "old-school" department to be even more accountable."With everything being put out there in the media, I want to be transparent and I want to show people we're doing the job we're being paid to," Corbin said. "(The cameras elevate) the professionalism of the deputy and holds citizens accountable."The GoPro cameras, which the sheriff's office has demoed since November, feature Cloud storage and are the same model being used by several local police agencies, including Perkins police and the sheriff's offices in Erie and Ottawa counties.With the body cameras, deputies will benefit from being able to review footage to make sure they didn't miss anything, Corbin said. The cameras also help in trials when video footage can assist juries render a verdict.Corbin said they bought the cameras on a four-year contract, paying about $13,000 per year, through the video capture company Intrensic. As a part of the contract, the sheriff's office will get new body cameras from Intrensic in 2021, while keeping their cameras they're about to start using.Visit our Huron County Sheriff's Office hub for more storiesReach reporter Brandon Addeo at brandonaddeo@sanduskyregister.com, follow him on Twitter @BrandonAddeo and follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterIn this Aug. 7, 2018 photo, Perkins assistant police Chief Vince Donald holds up a GoPro body camera. It's the same model the Huron County Sheriff's Office will start using in February. Huron County Sheriff Todd Corbin