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'We wanted to step up': Hardin County Sheriff's Office gets body cameras, say it's about transparency

Starting Monday, Sheriff John Ward said 28 deputies and eight School Resource Officers will wear them.

HARDIN COUNTY, Ky. — It seems there aren't many police departments without them these days, and now for the first time, body cameras will be used in the Hardin County Sheriff's Office.

Starting Monday, Sheriff John Ward says 28 deputies and eight School Resource Officers will wear them.

"We wanted to step up,” Ward said. “We're always looking for ways to better serve our community."

Ward says he had pushed for the cameras for years, and even though they weren't included in this year's budget, the department ordered them. 

He says it was made possible with financial support from the community. Ward says the money came from an anonymous donor, St. James Regional School and a grant through WesBanco.

"Here in Hardin County, we have tremendous support of the community, but we want to show that transparency with our body cameras,” Ward said.

Deputy Travis Cook showed WHAS how the cameras will work on a daily basis.

"As they're doing their duties throughout the day, any contact that they have in the community, they're going to record those events,” Cook said.

He says after each interaction, officers will categorize the event.

Cook says when deputies return the cameras to their docking stations to charge after their shift, it automatically uploads all video to a cloud-based storage system. He says deputies will never be able alter the video at any point.

Cook, like Ward, said it's all about transparency.

"In my past experience, I can tell you without a doubt it's more of a positive experience for the person wearing the camera than a negative impact,” he said.

Ward says the camera system will cost a total of around $140,000.

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