Body cameras for the Key West Police Department. Night binoculars for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. Radar units for the Florida Highway Patrol.
It was like Christmas in February at the Monroe County Sheriff's Office Friday, with Sheriff Rick Ramsay in the role of Santa Claus for fellow law enforcement agencies.
The Sheriff's Office bought $164,000 worth of equipment, using the fees it receives to administer grants under the federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program.
The Key West Police Department received 100 body cameras, which officers will wear.
"I think it's going to keep everybody more honest," said Key West Police Chief Donie Lee. "It's going to keep the police more honest. It's going to keep the public more honest."
The cameras will also be helpful in collecting evidence, Lee said.
Agencies receiving equipment ranged from the Florida Highway Patrol, which patrols U.S. 1 in the Keys, and the Key Colony Beach Police Department, which consists of the chief, four officers and a part-timer.
Ramsay said it's in his interest to share the equipment with his fellow law enforcement agencies.
"If I care about Monroe County, I have to care about all parts of it, and all my fellow law enforcement officers, state, local and federal, who are also trying to make it a better, safer place," Ramsay said.
Besides the body cameras and the night vision binoculars, equipment distributed Friday included radar units, GPS systems, atrial defibrillators and video systems for police cars.
