Tarrant County personnel will now be required to wear body cameras while on duty.
The new policy applies to law enforcement employees and county jailers when responding to any active incidents, according to the proposal on the agenda.
That includes traffic stops, search or arrest warrants, transporting individuals as part of an investigation, or any situation where a recording could provide evidence in criminal or internal probes.
Jailers specifically must be recording any altercations with inmates that could lead to an incident report.
Commissioners approved the new policy during Tuesday's meeting in a 3-1 vote. Commissioner Roderick Miles, Jr. voted against the policy and Commissioner Alisa Simmons was not present during the meeting. County Judge Tim O'Hare and Commissioners Matt Krause and Manny Ramirez voted in favor.
Miles said he fully supports body-worn cameras but believes other areas of the policy need to be strengthened before it is implemented — specifically when it comes to rules for jailers.
He pointed to the lack of details for jail activation protocols, guidance for interactions within housing units, and how the cameras will work alongside the camera systems already operating in the jails.
"Interactions inside a detention facility are fundamentally different from patrol encounters, and the policy should reflect those differences," Miles told his colleagues.
Miles also said the policy doesn't offer guidance when encountering people experiencing a mental health crisis — an issue several residents raised brought up during Tuesday's meeting.
"When you stick all the people with mental health problems in the same facility as everyone else, it kind of overloads the prisons with things that people are not trained to take care of," resident Jane Collins said during public comment.
Recent and past Tarrant County Jail deaths raised concerns over medical and mental health assistance for inmates. Others have criticized the jail's handling of people in custody with mental illnesses or intellectual disabilities.
"We need clear protocols that protect evidence while also protecting privacy, dignity, and the rights of people during vulnerable moments," Miles said.
Miles said the proposal didn't include total costs, a number of cameras to be deployed, the funding source, the cost of data storage, training requirements, staffing needs, or the rollout timeline.
There wasn't further discussion after Miles' comments, and commissioners voted right after.
It's not clear if the sheriff's office has any current rules when it comes to wearing body cameras. KERA News reached out for a comment and will update this story with any response.
Penelope Rivera is KERA's Tarrant County Accountability Reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope at privera@kera.org.
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