WAUKESHA — A deputy-involved shooting following a multi-county chase is reigniting the debate over the lack of body and dash cameras at the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office.
The situation unfolded Thursday morning, when Waukesha deputies shot and killed 41-year-old Nathan Poulakis, according to the department. Deputies had tried to pull Poulakis over before he crashed into a field and displayed a gun. The sheriff said deputies fired because they feared for their lives.
This shooting has brought renewed attention to an ongoing issue: Wisconsin Department of Justice data and previous TMJ4 reporting show the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office is the only law enforcement agency in southeast Wisconsin without body or dash cameras.
Watch: Three Waukesha Co. Sheriff candidates say body and dash cams must be a priority following fatal shooting
For the first time in more than a decade, Waukesha County will elect a new sheriff this fall after current Sheriff Eric Severson announced plans to retire. All three candidates running to replace Severson say the lack of cameras has to change.
Former FBI agent Danny Day said he could not believe it when he learned Waukesha County deputies were not equipped with the technology. He said it protects officers and provides proof to the community.
"This should have been solved 10 years ago," Day said. "Those poor two guys that shot [on Thursday], now they've got that burden on them that they've shot and killed somebody, and they're going to go through the wringer. And I don't know how long this is going to take, but if there were body cameras, it would relieve so much pressure off them to say, go to the tape," Day said.
For years, Severson has blamed budget issues for not having body or dash cameras. Candidate Nicolas Ollinger, an insider with the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office, said finding the finances has to be a priority for one of the state's largest law enforcement agencies.
"Do you know how much this would cost?” TMJ4’s Ben Jordan asked.
“Millions, millions of dollars," Ollinger replied. "Come day one, we're going to right the ship on that, we're going to work with the county exec and the county board to find the funding to get body cams for the sheriff's office," Ollinger said.
Candidate John Gscheidmeier serves on the county board. He said if smaller departments across the county can afford it, so can the sheriff's office.
"We need to make it a priority. To me, it's an issue of priority over expense," Gscheidmeier said.
All three candidates said the county would have to get creative to avoid passing all the costs down to taxpayers. Some believe that means tapping into grants and fundraisers.
"You don't need to equip every single person in the department with a body cam. I think you could start smaller, prioritizing the deputies on the road, and also augment not only body cams with dash cams," Gscheidmeier said.
Although the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office does not use body or dash cameras, it does pay for license plate reading cameras. A board member told TMJ4 that it is because technology is significantly cheaper than body and dash camera video storage fees.
Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow released a statement regarding the issue:
"In Waukesha County, several agencies have chosen to use either dash cameras, body cameras, or both during in their on-duty law enforcement activities. To date, the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department has yet to utilize this technology. Should the Sheriff come forward with a budget request to begin using this technology, we would consider the financial implications of that decision. Any change into the County’s policy on the use of cameras would begin with our elected Sheriff. As County Executive, I have authority over the Sheriff Department’s annual budget. Funding our County’s justice and public safety needs is my number one priority. The cost of implementing a body and dash camera program in our County would be incredibly expensive and would certainly lead to a reduction of services either within or outside of the Sheriff’s Department. It is likely, therefore, that broad discussions of County funding priorities would be held with numerous stakeholders to determine the best path forward," Farrow said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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