The latest report from the Nevada County Grand Jury pushes for all local law enforcement agencies to use body worn cameras. The director of the American Civil Liberties Union says in the report, quote, “with cameras on the scene to record the action, people behave better”. Truckee and Nevada City Police now have them and they were recently approved for Grass Valley Police. Nevada City Police Chief Tim Foley agrees with the ACLU’s assessment. He says his officers have been equipped with the cameras for about six months…

click to listen to Chief Foley

That leaves the Sheriff’s Department as the only local law enforcement agency without body cameras. But Sheriff Keith Royal says there is currently no funding for them and there are still a number of legal unknowns…

click to listen to Sheriff Royal

Royal also says there have been very few officer conduct complaints at the Nevada County Sheriff’s Department and also points out that there are cameras on patrol cars. The Grand Jury says differences in descriptions of incidents, plus cell phone cameras that often capture some of what’s going on, have caused a breakdown of order and major threats to officers and citizens alike. It says the county is not immune to this turmoil.