Milwaukee Co. Sheriff launching body camera pilot program

MILWAUKEE COUNTY (CBS 58) – In a push for better transparency, Milwaukee County Sheriff Richard Schmidt is launching a body camera pilot program for his department this month.

Twenty deputies on foot patrol will be fitted with the body cameras. The sheriff says they will wear the cameras until January as part of the program.

Sheriff officials say the Targeted Enforcement Unit was trained on the equipment in June. Schmidt said if the department decides to implement the program after January, they will need the county board to approve the costs when the next budget is finalized.

“We do need funding,” Schmidt said. “This is not cheap stuff. The most money that we need is for storage of the video and so fourth. The company that we are doing this with is on a free-will basis so we are getting this for free right now.”

The total cost of the program, if implemented, is unknown at this time. Waukesha and Kenosha counties do not have body cameras. Kenosha County officials tell CBS 58 they are looking into starting a pilot program.