MAN DIES IN GOLF CART ACCIDENT, PAGE A2
westvalleyview.com — the newspaper of Avondale, Buckeye, Goodyear, Litchfield Park & Tolleson, AZ 50¢ Wednesday, February 17, 2016 (623) 535-8439
MCSO outfits deputies with body cameras
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Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office purchases 700 cameras to comply with court order by Emily Toepfer assistant editor
CARE TO DANCE? Wigwam Festival of Fine Art returns to Litchfield Park. See photos on Page A12.
View photo by Jordan Christopher
SGT. DARRIN FREI models one of the new body cameras all Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office deputies will soon be outfitted with during a press conference Feb. 11 at the MCSO headquarters in Phoenix.
If you have any interactions with a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office deputy in the future, chances are very good it will be recorded. All deputies are being outfitted with body cameras in an effort to improve productivity and accountability while they’re on patrol, Sheriff Joe Arpaio said. The Sheriff’s Office purchased 700 cameras, and 530 are already in use, he said during a Feb. 11 press conference. “Initially, I was a little reluctant about these cameras, being an old-time guy,” Arpaio said. “One thing that gnawed at me is I have to realize we’re in a different ballgame now.” The cameras were purchased from Taser International at a cost of $1,113 for all 700,
which is normally the price of one, Arpaio said. MCSO will pay an annual cost of about $863,570 to maintain the cameras and download videos to evidence.com, which is also Taser based. About $33,000 was also spent on infrastructure upgrades at MCSO’s substations, where fiber optic cables had to be installed, Chief Deputy Jerry Sheridan said. “The data from these cameras has to be downloaded every day after shift,” he said. “It is a monumental task to unload that amount of information.” Recordings must be kept for five years, according to a court order, Sheridan said. In 2013, a judge ordered Arpaio to outfit patrol deputies’ vehicles with dash cameras after (See Cameras on Page A4)
Agua Fria Special Olympians got game Avondale school hosts basketball game in front of entire campus by Shane McOwen staff writer
STATE CHAMP Desert Edge junior wins state wrestling championship title two years in a row — Page B1.
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The Agua Fria High School gymnasium was at peak capacity for a basketball game Feb. 4, but it had nothing to do with the varsity teams. The Avondale high school hosted a Special Olympic Unified basketball game against Glendale Ironwood High School; a five-onfive matchup featuring three special education students and two regular education students on the court for each side. The schools played two 20-minute halves in front of a standing-room-only crowd full of Agua Fria students, teachers and parents. Ironwood won a nail biter of a game, 32-30. While it was close, the score might not have been the highest priority of the event. Chris Morris, an autism spectrum disorder-life skills teacher at Agua Fria, said the goal of the event was to create a realistic varsity athletic experience for the special-needs students who don’t necessarily get that chance. “Based off their needs and the specialized instruction they get in the classroom, they don’t get many opportunities to take electives or things like that,” Morris said. “[We wanted] to create something great for them on their high school campus where they feel like they’re a part of it, not saying they were never a part, but now they have a strong connection with everybody, instead of just their teachers, or kids in their class. Now they have a nice connection. Basketball games, going to dances, hanging out with friends, [those] are high school experiences.” Morris thought the event was a resounding success, he said. “I go out there to get the students every morning from the bus,” he said. “It was still the topic of conversation for all of them. It was the topic all week before we started, and it’ll probably continue on for a while.” Morris had previous experience setting up similar events while teaching at Ironwood, he said. He and Tony Stillings, a teacher at
View photo by Jordan Christopher
AGUA FRIA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS Carlos Ortiz and Sereena Burciaga embrace in celebration after making a basket against Ironwood High School in a Special Olympics basketball game Feb. 4 at the Avondale school. Ironwood, set up a Special Olympic Unified game a few years ago at the Glendale school. Morris contacted Stillings earlier this year to have the two schools play a game together at Agua Fria. Morris got the green light from administration at the beginning of the school year, and worked toward setting up the game near the end of the varsity basketball season. “Really, the week of was the most busy part,” he said. “I had to pair all the kids based on ability levels and groups, and Tony was to do the
same, so we’d have the same groupings in there at the same time to keep it competitive.” Morris admitted he was a little worried about the competitiveness of the game early on, but had contingency plans in place. A close game would keep the players and fans interested, he said. “We were nervous because I had a few kids who could hit three-point shots and [Tony] didn’t,” Morris said. “I told him they could hit those shots and there was nothing I could do (See Olympians on Page A4)