Manitowoc County Sheriff Dan Hartwig
Manitowoc County’s Sheriff is commenting after the county board voted to allow them to get body cameras.
Sheriff Dan Hartwig explained on WOMT’s Be My Guest program that Manitowoc County is one of three counties in northeast Wisconsin to not have body cameras for sheriff’s deputies.
It’s expected that the full implementation of the cameras will be in March, along with new Tasers for law enforcement.
Sheriff Hartwig tried to get the body cameras into last year’s budget, but it didn’t make it through.
But this year, Sheriff Hartwig said, “The County Executive came up with a Request for Proposal, or RFP, and got a bunch of committee members, our county board chair, our public safety chair, finance chair, myself, IT, Department of Public Works Director, Finance Director…to look at this project.”
In the end, AXON, which serves many municipalities across the country, was the one bid that the group decided would be the best for the county.
However, the proposal would still have some hurdles, as County Executive Bob Ziegelbauer would veto it after the Manitowoc County Board of Supervisors passed the 2026 budget.
But the board would later override Ziegelbauer’s veto to put it back.
Sheriff Hartwig also explains that the department is looking at grant funding to help complete the project.
“We submitted for a $188,000 grant for the body cameras,” he noted. “The deadline for that grant submission was November 10th. I know we just checked recently and it says pending. So, we’re hoping we can get those federal funds to help offset our taxbase.”
The Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Department is also replacing cameras in its interview rooms as well as in 13 squad cars.
The Manitowoc County Sheriff added that he’s thankful for the county board to get the project started, and it has been a long time coming.
It will also help provide more transparency and safety for the community.
