Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams explains new policy for releasing body camera footage with State Attorney’s Office

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Thousands of protesters filled of the streets of Downtown Jacksonville over the weekend, demanding change with law enforcement. For some, the focus was on releasing police body camera footage quicker.

Monday, city council members continued the conversation with Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams.

During a virtual meeting, council members asked Williams about the release of body camera footage for officer-involved shootings. Williams explained a new agreement reached with the State Attorney’s Office.

RELATED: State Attorney’s Office for Fourth Judicial Circuit releases memo on body cam footage in officer-involved shootings

“As we’ve been saying for the last couple of weeks, the State Attorney’s Office and I have been working on this topic for months,” Williams said. “So because it’s a new project, we knew we would have challenges as we put this new technology in place, in terms of policy and those types of things to work through.”

He said viewing body camera footage specifically for officer-involved shootings was one of the things they were working on.

“We made the determination a few weeks ago that we feel like in order to allow me to continue to follow the law and also get body camera footage into the public’s square as quickly as we can, that she can be the release point for the body camera footage,” Williams said.

In the event of an officer-involved shooting, the State Attorney’s Office conducts an investigation. It will determine if the officer broke the law.

Once the investigation is complete, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office takes those findings and conducts an administrative review on if the officer should be fired. Williams said this process can take months, which is why it could take a while to release body camera footage.

The new agreement allows the State Attorney’s office to release evidence once their investigation is complete, rather than waiting on JSO’s investigation.

“We made the determination as soon as the State is done they have the evidence which is the body camera footage, she is not bound by that same law that I am because she’s not conducting the internal review of the officer, I am. So she can release the body camera footage,” Williams said.

City council members also asked Williams about the possibility of a community feedback group. Currently, JSO has neighborhood groups where he meets with residents once a quarter to discuss specific neighborhood issues.

Since Williams became Sheriff, he said JSO has arrested 15 of its employees and fired more than 30.

© 2020 Cox Media Group