Ramsey County Sheriff's Office rolls out body cameras for jail corrections officers
Corrections officers at the Ramsey County Jail will now be required to wear body cameras. (FOX 9)
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - In the Ramsey County Jail, a new tool is being used to keep an eye on both inmates and corrections officers.
"I believe it will make our job easier because it will highlight what we go through on a daily basis,” said Lt. Mike Johnson of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office.
While police across the country use body cameras, the Ramsey County Sheriff says it’s groundbreaking for corrections officers in the jail to use them. The sheriff says their cameras were officially turned on at 1 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.
"It's a paradigm shift for us,” said Lt. Johnson. “It's going to be a huge change for us."
Corrections officers started wearing body cameras in the adult detention center on the heels of patrol deputies and court security. Sheriff Bob Fletcher says officers will be expected to turn the cameras on whenever they have an interaction with an inmate. That could involve force, loud verbal commands or when an inmate is uncooperative.
"We want to make sure we can inspire trust and confidence in our community to make sure they know we want to treat people in our custody as if they were a relative," said Sheriff Fletcher.
Sheriff Fletcher pushed for body cameras after the FOX 9 Investigators showed a video from 2016 shot by a corrections officer of another corrections officer using excessive force against a suspect. Travis Vandewiele is seen punching and kneeing Terrell Wilson, who was handcuffed at the time, while trying strap him into a transport chair.
"That behavior was reprehensible,” said Sheriff Fletcher. “The mayor described it as torture. I would say anytime you have a handcuffed person, who is the victim of excessive force and force, it is unacceptable. We just have to find a way to change it."
The sheriff hopes the body cameras will not only protect inmates from being mistreated, but they will also protect corrections officers from being falsely accused of wrongdoing.
"The cameras will ensure that if there are individuals who are outside our expected norms of behavior we'll terminate them," said Sheriff Fletcher.
Sheriff Fletcher says 250 body cameras will be used in the jail. The total program cost $1.5 million for equipment plus another $300,000 a year to monitor.