Body-Worn Camera Program

On June 20, 2023, in a unanimous vote, the Clark County Council authorized a five-year contract with Axon Enterprises to provide the Clark County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) with body-worn cameras (BWCs), vehicle cameras, and updated Taser products. 

CCSO trained and equipped deputies with BWCs in a phased process.

1. BWC deployment began in early fall 2023. As of January 2024, all patrol and specialty units have been trained and equipped with BWCs.
2. The vehicle camera system includes a forward-facing camera and another camera that captures video of the inside of the patrol vehicles' back seats. The installation of vehicle cameras started at the end of February 2024 and was completed in April 2024, with the system installed in all permanently assigned patrol vehicles. 

Washington law does limit disclosure of body-worn videos in certain circumstances (see RCW 42.56.240(14) for details), such as when a video:

• Contains images of any areas of a medical facility, counseling, or therapeutic program office where a patient is receiving or waiting for treatment;
• Contains information that meets the definition of protected health information;
• Contains images of the interior of a place of residence where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy;
• Contains images defined in the RCW as "intimate," i.e., nudity, partial nudity, sexually explicit content;
• Contains images of a minor;
• Contains images of a deceased person;
• Contains the identity or communications from a victim or witness of an incident involving domestic violence, sexual assault, or disclosure of intimate images;
• Reveals the identity of a crime victim, witness, or complainant who indicated a desire for non-disclosure of their identity (RCW 42.56.240(2)). 

Several other statutes may render additional information confidential or exempt from release to the public. Please visit https://clark.wa.gov/sheriff/public-disclosure-unit for more details.

Critical Incident Videos

Following a deadly use-of-force incident involving a deputy, the Clark County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) will release body-worn camera (BWC) video at the Sheriff's discretion. The release of these videos will be separate from the Independent Investigation Team's (IIT) or Office of Independent Investigations' (OII) team’s investigations.

Body-worn camera videos' frame rate/recording speed may not necessarily capture all segments of an event, nor provide a sharp or clear image of the recorded event.