PRESTONSBURG, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — The Prestonsburg Police Department is adding AXON Enterprise Fleet 3 in-car cameras to all patrol and detective vehicles, expanding a body-worn camera program already recognized as the only fully deployed electronic evidence system among non-state-government law enforcement agencies in the region.
According to a press release, the Fleet 3 system features forward and rear-facing cameras, along with a camera mounted in the prisoner partition area of patrol-based and detective vehicles. The system also enhances fleet management with real-time GPS and automatic over-the-air upload of recording events.
The department said the expansion addresses coverage gaps identified since the body-worn camera program launched two years ago, including limited views while officers operate patrol vehicles, certain angles during DUI investigations, and response-to-resistance scenarios.
With the addition of Fleet 3, every law enforcement contact with the Prestonsburg Police Department will be captured on camera. Emergency driving, "hard" event activation, and DUI vehicle behavior — previously outside the scope of body-worn cameras — will now be recorded, according to the release.
The system is designed to activate automatically. Every time emergency lights are activated, a TASER weapon is brandished or activated, or a service weapon is brandished, the entire camera solution activates without any further input from the officer, according to the department. Recordings remain active for the duration of the encounter and are governed by a comprehensive recording equipment policy.
The release states that officers undergo monthly random quality control reviews of videos through the evidence.com platform, which manages all tamper-proof recordings.
The full suite of AXON flagship products now deployed by the Prestonsburg Police Department includes:
- AXON Body 4 body-worn camera
- Fleet 3 in-car multi-camera system
- TASER 10 Conducted Energy less-lethal weapon
The department said no other agency in the region has deployed this combination of technology.
Chief of Police Ross C. Shurtleff said the program traces its roots to Mayor Rick Hughes, who took office in the spring of 2024 and met with each department head to outline priorities focused on quality of life, transparency, accountability, productivity, and public safety.
The department credited Mayor Hughes, the City Council and its Finance Committee, and City Comptroller Miranda Shepherd for securing funding for the capital projects.
Since the body-worn camera program launched two years ago, the department reported an increase in pre-trial convictions in criminal cases, a vindication of every complaint filed against a Prestonsburg Police officer, and a decrease in total complaints filed.
