GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (WOOD) — Nearly seven years since the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office said it would add body cameras, the department still doesn’t have the technology nor dashcams on deputies’ cruisers.

After former Undersheriff Steve Kempker won the primary for Ottawa County Sheriff in 2016, he told News 8 he wanted body cameras in place by the following year. Ottawa County would have been among the first sheriff’s departments in the state to use them.

But that never happened. As body cameras have become the norm for many departments, Ottawa County has fallen behind.

Kempker told News 8 in 2016 he was “100%” supporting the effort, estimating there would be 100 body cameras and 80 in-car cameras. Although he conceded it would take time to put the program in place, he said he hoped to put it in place by the fall of 2017.

The Ottawa County Administrator’s Office also told News 8 in 2016 it marked $1 million for the project whenever it moves forward.

But the sheriff’s department never got the money it needed, stalling the project.

“The fact that any police department at this point is saying they do not have body-worn cameras, dashcams and are essentially taking their time with acquiring those items, to me that sounds very dubious and very questionable,” said Carlton Mayers II, the legal counsel for the Greater Grand Rapids Branch of the NAACP.

Just over two years ago, the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners took some action, approving more than $84,000 in the 2022 budget for a “body camera technical specialist.”

Kempker told News 8 on Sunday the body camera project is underway “but has not been deployed.”

“Partial funding was in place to hire a manager for the system who is in place,” Kempker wrote. “We are working with the county as this is a very large project.”

The sheriff then explained they need equipment and personnel to run the system, handle all the data and deal with Freedom of Information Act requests to redact sensitive material.

Kempker articulated to News 8 in 2016 that it would take time and money to get the staff necessary to redact the footage.

“Somebody, before it’s released, has to sit and watch it,” Kempker said. “(Are) there certain things that have to be ruled out like the face of a juvenile or a license plate.”

On Monday, News 8 emailed, texted and stopped by the sheriff’s office asking about a timeline for adding the cameras and did not hear back as of Monday night.

Because of the lack of body cameras, the sheriff’s department does not have its own video of a deadly shooting of a man by a deputy in Jenison on Saturday night.

The sheriff’s office said that around 10:30 p.m. a 28-year-old man was armed and threatened to kill himself and others.

When deputies made contact with the man toward the end of River Avenue, a deputy shot him. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The sheriff’s office has not said what else led up to the shooting.

“We need more than just an officer’s story,” Mayers said. “We need more than just a witness account; we also need the video footage. There’s just way too much opportunity for this law enforcement agency to be able to purchase the footage, hire the staff and be able to afford the retention of that footage.”

The deputy is now on administrative leave, and Michigan State Police are handling the investigation. That is all standard protocol.

The use of body cameras has increasingly become the norm for larger departments in law enforcement. Advocates say it can back up officers too.

“(It’s) helped to exonerate law enforcement from civilian complaints more than it has been shown to hold law enforcement accountable for engaging in misconduct,” Mayers said. “That is something that was not expected when body-worn cameras were first implemented.”

Mayers said smaller departments often need more time and resources to put the program into place.

“Just because they’re already small they have to develop an infrastructure to accommodate having body-worn cameras,” he said. “That might take them a little longer than a larger agency that’s used to having a lot of staff and lots of people.”

Mayers then questioned why Ottawa County still isn’t using body cameras when its neighbors have been doing so for years.

“(There’s) this slow walking essentially of purchasing and utilizing body-worn cameras even though your next-door neighbors have been doing this for some years now successfully,” he said.

The Kent County Sheriff’s Office started testing body cameras in April 2020, according to KCSO Sgt. Eric Brunner. By that September, the county designated $2.2 million for the cameras, which were rolled out that October.

The Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office spent $825,000 in October 2020 for body cameras. Deputies started using them in just six weeks, according to Undersheriff Jim VanDyken.

Mayers pointed to federal grants with the Department of Justice offering millions to law enforcement to start using body cameras.

“You have all of these different sources of funding that law enforcement are currently receiving,” Mayers said. “There’s no excuse at this point with all of this windfall of money that’s consistent and sustainable that law enforcement agencies are not able to purchase body-worn cameras.”

Mayers argued body cameras are necessary to get the full story.

“Having body-worn camera footage, dashcam footage, surveillance footage, eyewitness accounts, camera phones … as much of that footage that can be provided as possible will give you a clear view about what really happened,” he said.