February 21, 2007
Lakeland - 44 year-old Todd Higham is charged with aggravated sodomy, accused of having sexual relations with a female inmate.
In a statement, Lanier County Sheriff Nick Norton says Higham was working as a transport officer and transporting the 29 year-old Lanier County woman to the Lowndes County Jail last Wednesday.
When she arrived at the jail, the woman reported his actions. Higham confessed and was immediately arrested.
That same day Sheriff Norton was demonstrating an in car camera system he had recently purchased for all his patrol cars.
Law Enforcement Agencies says this system is crucial in monitoring both the officers and their passengers. "If an officer does something wrong we can go back and look at that camera system and make a determination if the officer did something wrong or if the officer did something right," says Commander Brian Childress with the Valdosta Police.
The system is expensive but police say in situations like these, it's well worth the price. "You can either pay, to fit one of these cars is about 5 thousand dollars. You can pay that or a half a million dollar lawsuit."
The woman may file a suit against Higham and the Lanier County Sheriff's Office.
Higham, who was just weeks away from entering the police academy and officially becoming a deputy, has been fired.
Sheriff Norton expects to begin installing the patrol cameras this weekend. Higham's case will be handled by prosecutors in Lowndes County.
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