Chattooga County Sheriff’s Deputies will soon be outfitted with body cameras, according to Sheriff Mark Schrader. Sheriff Schrader said that he expects his deputies to be wearing the body cameras within the next few weeks, adding he believes those cameras will be a useful tool for his department.

Those cameras were purchased with money given to the Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office by the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force and drug seizure money from his own department.

A total of 22 cameras were ordered from Bodycam at a cost of around $300 each.

The sheriff says he has had the cameras for several weeks, but that he has been developing a policy to be implemented within the sheriff’s office – and he has just recently received the approval of the policy from Chattooga County Attorney Chris Corbin.

The sheriff said that the policy has guidelines instructing deputies on when they are to use the cameras.

Schrader said that deputies will be able to use the video portion of the camera only in certain instances, and at other times can use the camera strictly as an audio device.

Sheriff Schrader says this will protect the privacy of citizens – and at the same time protect deputies in the field.

(AM1180 Chattooga County Radio)