Staff photo by Erin O. Smith /
Cpl. Jeff Herpst with the Walker County Sheriff's Office arrests an individual for driving with a revoked license Friday, June 22, 2018 in Walker County, Georgia.In Walker County, only four of 27 sheriff's office patrol cars have dash cams to capture interactions between law enforcement and the defendants they arrest. Sheriff Steve Wilson said he does not plan to close the gap, citing an expense of about $115,000. (The department's total budget was about $8 million this year.)
To see how 22 other local departments in North Georgia compared, the Times Free Press filed open records request with each agency Friday.
Here is a list of responses, which the newspaper will update as it receives more answers:
Calhoun Police Department: 27 of 27 patrol cars (100%)
Catoosa County Sheriff's Office: 45 of 59 patrol cars (76.3%)
Chatsworth Police Department: 16 of 16 patrol cars (100%)
Chattooga County Sheriff's Office: 0 of 13 patrol cars (0%)
Chickamauga Police Department: 4 of 4 patrol cars (100%)
Dade County Sheriff's Office: 14 of 23 patrol cars (60.9%)
Dalton Police Department: 65 of 65 patrol cars (100%)
Eton Police Department: 5 of 5 patrol cars (100%)
Fort Oglethorpe Police Department: 11 of 30 patrol cars. (36.7%)
Gordon County Sheriff's Office: 37 or 38 patrol cars, all with dash cams (100%)**
LaFayette Police Department: 14 of 14 patrol cars (100%)
Ringgold Police Department: 10 of 12 patrol cars (83.3%)*
Rossville Police Department: 8 of 9 patrol cars (88.9%)
Summerville Police Department: 5 of 5 patrol cars (100%)
Trenton Police Department: 8 of 8 patrol cars (100%)
Tunnel Hill Police Department: 4 of 5 patrol cars (80%)
Varnell Police Department: 6 of 8 patrol cars (75%)
Walker County Sheriff's Office: 4 of 27 patrol cars (14.8%)
Whitfield County Sheriff's Office: 40 of 58 patrol cars (68.9%)
*In response to the Times Free Press' records request, the city of Ringgold said 10 of 12 vehicles had dash cams. But, the city said, "only one car has a fully operational camera system.
**Because of a new order of vehicles, and the department's decision to sell some old vehicles, a spokesman for the Gordon County Sheriff's Office could not recall Monday afternoon how many cars are normally in the patrol rotation.
Staff photo by Erin O. Smith /
Sgt. Kevin Denny with the Walker County Sheriff's Office looks at a motorists driver's license after stopping the individual for a seatbelt violation Friday, June 22, 2018 in Walker County, Georgia. To cut down on car crashes and traffic fatalities, police in the Georgia will enforce a new "hands-free" law when the law goes into effect July 1. Here are departments that have not yet answered the Times Free Press' request:
Cohutta Police Department: Processing the request
Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 12/28/16. Sheriff Steve Wilson and his mother Ann Wilson mingle with people outside of the Walker County Courthouse after being sworn in on Wednesday, December 28, 2016. Sheriff Wilson is the first Sheriff in Walker County'Aos 184-year history to be sworn in for a 6th four-year term. Lookout Mountain Police Department: No response
Trion Police Department: No response