EDITORIAL: SHERIFF SPENDS SEIZED DRUG MONEY WISELY

Davidson County Sheriff Dallas Hedrick has put some dirty money to
good use, upgrading vehicles used by sheriff's deputies.

But fortunately, Hedrick didn't take a cue from his predecessor,
suspended sheriff Gerald Hege.

Unlike Hege, who used confiscated drug money for his infamous Spider
Car equipped with a nitrous oxide booster tank, Hedrick recently spent
$90,000 to install newer models of in-car video cameras, radios, light
bars and other equipment to improve vehicles deputies use.

Such purchases are logical uses for confiscated drug money and will
benefit deputies in their law enforcement efforts.

Installation of the newer in-car cameras is a wise move on Hedrick's
part. However, with a cost just short of $10,000 for each camera and
the accompanying equipment, some might say they are too expensive. But
such equipment has demonstrated its value in countless cases across
the nation - and closer to home.

Remember that it was an in-car camera that showed a vehicle of young
teens speeding away from a police cruiser near Troutman last year
before the teens wrecked and were killed. Cameras also have shown that
suspects were aggressors against officers who defended themselves.
They've also been used even to help identify suspects in the deaths of
law enforcement officers.

The newer version of cameras Hedrick had installed makes the equipment
even more useful to deputies. These cameras show a wider view of
action, and they will record constantly in a 45- to 60-second loop.
But once a vehicle's blue lights are turned on, the camera begins
recording continuously until the blue lights are turned off.

"That's useful in court as far as showing that this is what's
happened, this is why a car was stopped," Hedrick told Enterprise
reporter Kelly Kramp.

Also, the cameras are great tools for training new deputies and
evaluating the actions and procedures of experienced deputies while on
patrol.

In addition to all those benefits, the new equipment didn't cost
Davidson County taxpayers a penny. Of course, the Spider Car didn't
cost taxpayers either, but what benefit did it ever produce?