CAIRO — Grady County sheriff’s deputies will have a new set of equipment after the county commissioners approved a $200,000 purchase of stun guns and body cameras.

Commissioners granted the sheriff’s office approval Tuesday evening  to enter into a five-year lease agreement with Taser International.

The purchased stun guns are expected to be functional for a decade, while the cameras’ lithium battery lifespans are anticipated to last around two years, at which time Taser will send replacements at no cost.

Replaced equipment which is still usable will be sent to the jail.

Lt. Abby Hall told commissioners the purchase was needed for deputies’ safety.

While Tasers sometimes carry a negative stigma, Hall said their effectiveness in escaping potentially dangerous encounters without injury leaves no question as to their usefulness.

“It locks up a person’s body when it’s used correctly and allows another officer to step in and gain control of the subject that they’re wrestling with or trying to get under control,” she said.

Instead of officers having to physically confront a subject, Hall said a Taser allows dicey situations to conclude almost instantaneously.

“With that comes less injuries to us, less injuries to citizens, less lawsuits, less workman’s comp claims, less overtime for an officer having to work for somebody else that is injured and overall reduced medical costs in that situation,” Hall said.

Additionally, body cameras allow for more accurate accounts of incidents and improved evidence-gathering, and Hall said the devices are “a must in today’s society.”

“Twenty years ago, if an officer said it in court, it was gold,” the lieutenant said. “An officer’s word that he did X, Y and Z stood.”

The culture which previously accepted statements from law enforcement at face value has since evaporated, and Hall said an officer’s recollection of events is questioned “to the Nth degree” in the courtroom.

Part of the reason the sheriff’s office made the request, Hall said, was because a local attorney “ate one of our officers alive” for being on the scene of an incident but not having a recording in a hearing last Friday.

The sheriff’s office currently lacks body cameras, and while they do have in-car cameras, Hall said the one in the vehicle driven by the officer in question was not functional at the time of the incident.

Hall said the camera is just one of five that needs to be repaired, and fixing them all was out of the question because that would cost $6,000 each.

Instead, the sheriff’s office determined that the best possible solution was to purchase body cameras.

“You may not get everything (an officer) is doing driving, but when he’s out dealing with a citizen you’re going to see exactly what’s going on,” Hall said.

Sheriff Harry Young said he considered the purchase a necessity for his deputies.

Commissioner Keith Moye motioned to approve the request. He was seconded by Phillip Drew, and the commission unanimously approved the motion.

To offset costs, the sheriff’s office agreed to remove one vehicle lease each year for the duration of the deal with Taser. 

Originally, the sheriff’s office had plans to lease four new cars annually for the next several years to replace older vehicles.

“(Removing) that one vehicle alone will essentially pay for this yearly commitment for the Tasers and the body cams,” Hall said.

On top of that, Hall said Taser offered the county a $50,000 incentive for the purchase, knocking the the total price down to $200,954.

That price tag made sense to Commissioner Ray Prince, who said it would cost the county about as much as litigation that could have come around anyway if the purchase wasn’t made.

“You’ve got to have a safe community,” Prince said. “That’s all there is to it.”