Tuolumne County Sheriff | Body cameras
The Board approved a five-year agreement with Axon worth up to $572,718 in February 2022. The minutes record that it covers body-worn cameras and Tasers, and that its term began three weeks before the vote.
At a glance
- Contract value
- up to $572,718 over five years [1]
- Covers
- body-worn cameras and conducted energy weapons (Tasers) [1]
- Term begins
- 18 January 2022 [1]
- Approved
- 8 February 2022, unanimous [1]
- Governing policy
- Policy 470, Body-Worn Cameras [3]
- Footage retention
- minimum 60 days; minimum two years for evidentiary media (Policy 470) [3]
How it happened
- Decision
The Board approves a five-year Axon agreement
Sheriff Bill Pooley and Captain Pippin present a master services and purchasing agreement with Axon Enterprise for an amount not to exceed $572,718. The minutes describe it as covering "Body Worn Cameras and Conducted Energy Weapons for a five-year term, beginning January 18th, 2022," three weeks before the vote. The agenda lists an attachment titled as a signed agreement. The Board approves it by unanimous roll call. [1] [4]
- Coverage
Local coverage reports a body-camera purchase
myMotherLode reports the contract as a body-camera purchase for the Sheriff's Office totaling $572,718 over five years, quoting Sheriff Pooley: "I think all of our deputies want this for their protection." The article does not mention the conducted energy weapons named in the same agreement. [2]
- Context
The published policy manual carries a body-worn camera policy
The revision of the office's policy manual published in December 2025 includes Policy 470, Body-Worn Cameras, alongside Policy 377 on public safety video surveillance and Policy 613 on unmanned aircraft. [3]
How it was approved
On 8 February 2022 the Board of Supervisors approved a master services and purchasing agreement with Axon Enterprise for an amount not to exceed $572,718 over five years. Sheriff Bill Pooley and Captain Pippin presented it, the minutes record board comments and questions, and the vote was a unanimous roll call.[1]
The minutes describe the purchase as “Body Worn Cameras and Conducted Energy Weapons,” the second term meaning Tasers. Coverage two days later reported the price and the cameras and did not mention the weapons.[2]
The minutes also record the term: five years “beginning January 18th, 2022,” three weeks before the Board voted on it. The agenda for the meeting lists an attachment whose filename describes a signed agreement.[4]
What governs it
The office’s policy manual, in the revision published in December 2025, includes Policy 470 on body-worn cameras. It sets retention floors: a minimum of 60 days for non-evidentiary media, a minimum of two years for evidentiary media in enumerated circumstances, and permanent retention of access and deletion logs, citing Penal Code section 832.18.[3] We did not find a retention schedule for the footage in the Board records we reviewed.
Questions
- What did the county buy from Axon?
- Body-worn cameras and conducted energy weapons, commonly called Tasers, under a single master services and purchasing agreement worth up to $572,718 across five years. [1]
- When did the agreement start?
- Its term begins 18 January 2022. The Board approved it on 8 February 2022, three weeks later. The agenda for that meeting lists an attachment titled as a signed agreement. [1] [4]
- How long is body camera footage kept?
- Under Policy 470 of the office's manual, non-evidentiary camera media is retained for a minimum of 60 days, evidentiary media for a minimum of two years in enumerated circumstances, and logs of access and deletion permanently, citing Penal Code section 832.18. [1] [3]
What we do not know
- Did the county opt into or out of Axon's Customer Experience Improvement Program, under which the vendor uses customer data to develop its products?
- Why does the agreement term begin before the date the Board approved it?
What you can do
Show up
Systems like this one are approved by boards, councils and committees that meet in public. We have confirmed where each of them meets in Tuolumne County and how public comment works there.
How to show up in Tuolumne County →Protect yourself
Practical steps to shrink your personal data trail. Our guides publish at launch; until then, EFF's Surveillance Self-Defense is the best starting point.
Surveillance Self-Defense →Sources
- 1. Board of Supervisors minutes, meeting of February 8, 2022 (item 14) · Meeting record · · accessed
- 2. myMotherLode, "Tuolumne County Purchasing Body Cameras For Sheriff's Office" · News · · accessed · archived copy
- 3. Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office policy manual, revision of December 18, 2025 · Primary document · · accessed · archived copy
- 4. Board of Supervisors agenda, meeting of February 8, 2022 · Meeting record · · accessed
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