FLOWERY BRANCH — Family
ties across jurisdictional lines helped bring some needed in-car camera systems
to the Flowery Branch Police Department.
Cpl. Eric Cook
had asked his uncle, Cherokee County Sheriff Roger Garrison, if his office had
any equipment it wasn’t using anymore.
"We happened
to have upgraded our technology a couple of years ago and had these (cameras),
and nobody else in our county uses this particular style," said Garrison,
who is serving his fifth four-year term in Cherokee.
Upon his request,
the Cherokee County commission authorized donating eight of the systems to Flowery
Branch.
"They are
still in really good shape and working order," said Flowery Branch Police
Chief Gerald Lanich.
The equipment
costs about $4,500 per unit, "so this is quite a contribution Sheriff Garrison
has made for us," he added.
As frequently
shown in TV shows about crime and law enforcement, the camera systems enable
officers to record traffic stops and other patrol activities outside their vehicle.
"Basically,
it acts as an impartial third party on all interactions (with) the public, and
it just helps as a documentation of every situation that we’re involved
in," said Flowery Branch Officer Adam Locke.
The police department
has 10 patrol cars. Only three had the units before the donation.
With eight systems
from Cherokee either at the department or on their way, "I’ll end
up with a spare unit, which is great in case something goes wrong," Lanich
said.
"A camera
system in a (patrol) car is just invaluable," he said. "A picture is
worth a thousand words."
Installation
of the systems began Wednesday. Lanich said he hopes the units will be operating
in all the cars in two to three weeks.
Officers can
manually operate the camera while they are on patrol.
"When they
turn their blue lights on, the camera automatically comes on," Lanich said.
Garrison heaped
praise on the department, which last week started a K-9 unit featuring a 1«-year-old
Labrador retriever, Bart, and began bicycle patrols last summer.
"It seems
to be a real professional agency and I’m just glad to help," he said. "(The
cameras) were sitting in a box here, and (Flowery Branch) needed them, and the
rest is history."
