No more 'black boxes' in patrol cars, new sheriff says

EVERETT — Snohomish County’s largest law enforcement agency will no longer use an innovative tool to track how its patrol cars are being used.

Sheriff Adam Fortney said he ended the contract on New Year’s Day for telematics systems, or “black boxes,” that were installed in the department’s vehicles by the previous administration.

Fortney’s predecessor Ty Trenary implemented the program in 2017 to curb injuries and deaths from officer-related crashes. The devices captured information such as vehicle location, direction of travel, speed, braking and airbag deployment, as well as the use of emergency lights and seat belts.

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In Snohomish County, a grim reminder of driving’s dangers came in April 2015, when deputy John Sadro ran a stop sign and slammed into a pickup truck. A construction worker, pinned between the truck and a parked car, eventually lost his legs. The county settled a civil lawsuit for $14.3 million, and Sadro pleaded guilty to reckless driving and reckless endangerment, gross misdemeanors.

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What could go wrong?