Wagoner County Sheriff's Office Excited To Receive New Dashcams

Grant money from the Oklahoma Attorney General will put dash cameras in every Wagoner County patrol car.

Wagoner County Sheriff Chris Elliot said he views dashcams as a tool to protect the community, and he believes the cameras will help his department.

Deputy Nick Mahoney said it’s something they've been looking into for more than a year, and, with the help of the Oklahoma Safe Grant, spent around $35,000 to get.

"We're very, very, lucky and thankful that through this grant we received, that we're able to deploy these into our units," Mahoney said.

9/19/2017 Related Story: Safe Oklahoma Grants Awarded To Tulsa Area Law Enforcement Agencies

The cameras have the ability to see 130-degrees from the direction it's pointed, and they capture video in color.

"It's not just the video, it's the audio. These cameras are equipped with a body mic, and these body mics are attached to them, and it will go in houses with them and it will go away from the car and out of the view of the camera, and you'll still be able to hear everything that happens," Mahoney said.

Elliot and others in Wagoner County believe it’s a good solution for everyone.

"This is another tool in our arsenal to make us more successful in Wagoner County in prosecuting bad guys that are out victimizing our citizens," the sheriff said.

Elliot said he hopes to have all 24 of his patrol cars equipped with the cameras by the end of October.