April 2, 2024
Steuben County District Attorney Brooks Baker says the company that sells the police body cameras to local law enforcement now wants to charge the Steuben County DA’s office between $30 and $60,000 a year to be able to access bodycam videos from law enforcement agencies like the Steuben County Sheriff’s Department. Up to this point, according to officials, the Steuben County District Attorneys Office has been able to access the bodycam videos taken by law enforcement in Steuben County, at no charge. Baker also says, the company is threatening to pull the plug, so the DA’s office in Bath, won’t be able to see the videos, unless the county starts pay between $30,000 and $60,000 a year.
Baker says he and Steuben County District Attorney’s Office Investigator Noel Terwilliger attended a meeting where they were both told by the bodycam video company, that the D.A.’s Office in Bath would be able to access the law enforcement agencies bodycam video, online, for free. “We were lied to,” Terwilliger said.
Baker also noted that because Governor Kathy Hochul’s office stepped in and spoked with the bodycam video company, and that as a result, this bodycam company has given the Steuben County District Attorneys Office until September to come up with a payment plan.
