The Lima Chapter of the NAACP is urging the Allen County Sheriff to step up their timetable to get body cameras. The civil rights organization says a recent complaint against the members of the SWAT team has been filed with them. Where a person says they were abused by law enforcement during a search warrant at their home, the officers says that they had to use force because the person was resisting arrest. The NAACP says without footage from a body camera to see what happened, they are not sure who to believe in their investigation. President Ron Fails says the NAACP has been having productive meetings with Sheriff Matt Treglia about getting body cameras for his department and is hoping that they act sooner rather than later.
“A simple piece of equipment like a body camera protects all of us, both the public and the officer,” says Fails. “We don’t need to work against one another, we need to work together. This is an opportunity for us to do that.”
Fails says since the Lima Police Department has equipped their officers with body cameras, complaints against their officers have dropped significantly.
“I think it is evident if you just monitor the cases that are going through the courts, even the cases that are brought to our office. We have fewer complaints now than we ever did since the LPD has been equipped with body cameras,” adds Fails. “I think the same will be true with the State Highway Patrol. I think the same will be true also with the local sheriff department and the SWAT team.”
The Ohio State Highway Patrol will have all their troopers across the state equipped with body cameras by the end of May.
