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New Dash Cameras Provide Insight on Beauchamp Chase

Lake County, MI - Michigan State Police searched the truck of Eric Beauchamp Tuesday, the man accused of killing 34-year-old Lindsay Morgan and triggering an eight hour manhunt Friday.

Police say after killing Lindsey Morgan, Beauchamp broke into a nearby home and stole a pick up truck. Detectives say they collected several pieces of evidence from the truck, including a weapon.

The Lake County Sheriff had three deputies in the chase and their dash camera video shows everything that led to the capture of Beauchamp. The dash camera caught the 90 m.p.h. chase of Beauchamp as he headed northbound on M-37, hit a car with three people inside, and crashed into the Peterson Bridge in Manistee County. Dash cameras show when Beauchamp was shot on the upper leg as he stepped out of his car and tried to run.

“Everything went off just exactly as it would in a textbook. The deputies were 100 percent professional, efficient, and got the job done just exactly as they were trained,” says Lake County Sheriff Robert Hilts.

The cameras were installed in the Lake County Sheriff’s cruisers about three weeks ago and were used during the Beauchamp chase. As soon as deputies get into their car they clip a microphone inside their vest and when the lights turn on the sound is activated for the entire video. Sheriff Hilts hopes the video will help train others. “This video is so precise, it’s really good and once were able to we will offer it to anyone,” says Hilts.

Each Lake County deputy that was a part of this case was debriefed by a psychologist in Lansing to make sure they were doing okay. “They will determine whether or not they need any more time off or give us a time frame of when of those guys can come back to work,” says Hilts. Lake County Sheriff deputies meet with a psychologist after every major event. “I want to know my guys are top notch when they hit the street again,” says Hilts. The Lake County Sheriff’s Department is still in the testing phase for the new dash cameras. The new technology allows the footage to automatically download as soon as the cruiser is near the sheriff’s department.

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