Why not compel sheriff to use cams?

WHAT WILL IT take to persuade (Bernalillo County) Sheriff Manuel Gonzales to require deputes to wear body cameras?

The recent killing by sheriff’s deputies of a mentally ill woman, Elisha Lucero, presumably will result in a lawsuit against Bernalillo County and large settlement. Will a big payout eliminate the sheriff’s animus against cameras, or do more mentally ill people have to die in order to bring in the U.S. Department of Justice to provide oversight of the Sheriff’s Office, as well as the Albuquerque Police Department?

APD is still completing changes in policing under its DOJ agreement because of excessive force in 2010-14. I followed those cases closely. Several who died were mentally ill. For me, Elisha Lucero’s death is déjà vu.

Also, the Bernalillo County Behavioral Health Initiative is underway to improve both the availability of mental health care for residents and the interaction of law enforcement officers with mentally ill people, who may be physiologically unable to follow police commands. Elisha Lucero was killed because she “aggressively approached” the deputies, allegedly with a knife.

Body cameras provide visual records of police incidents for analysis and training purposes. APD officers wear cameras, but sheriff’s deputies do not, even though deputies are policing the entire metropolitan area of 1,160 square miles with a population of 676,773 people — 2015 — where APD officers wear cameras.

Uniform policing policies, such as body cameras and use of force, are essential in our large metropolitan area. If the sheriff won’t go along, and no state or local elected official or governing body can compel the sheriff to do so, then it’s time to consolidate the Sheriff’s Office with APD. DIANNE R. LAYDEN Albuquerque