by Sherry Hamilton
Mathews County Sheriff April Edwards told the Mathews Board of Supervisors during its July meeting that her office is being awarded a $32,000 grant to purchase Axon body-worn cameras for all Mathews officers.
The grant is being funded jointly by the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, administered by Justice & Security Strategies, a female- and minority-owned criminal justice consulting firm.
Edwards said the grant will fund 16 cameras and unlimited cloud-based storage for two years. All 14 full-time officers will receive a camera, and there will be two extras for use by part-time officers or for replacement if a camera malfunctions.
Office policy will require that the cameras be activated whenever a deputy responds to an incident or makes a traffic stop, she said, enhancing accountability and providing evidence of whatever actions were taken.
The cameras are date- and time-stamped and rechargeable, said E...