JSO denies camera worn by officer during Lonzie search was body cam

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is denying a camera worn by one of its officers during the search for Lonzie Barton’s remains is a body camera.

The State Attorney’s Office released two-and-a-half hours of video to Action News Jax that shows Ruben Ebron leading officers to the woods in Bayard where he said he dumped the body of his girlfriend’s toddler.

Ebron pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter.

“I remember I jumped over a couple of those downed logs,” Ebron can be heard telling officers in the video.

JSO spokesperson Officer Melissa Bujeda said officers don’t use body cameras.

Bujeda said the videos were shot by “surveillance equipment used to record.”

She said it was worn by an undercover officer.

When Action News Jax pressed her to specify what the equipment was, she responded that surveillance techniques are exempt from public record.

“It appears it’s some sort of camera that’s used in undercover operations. Something that’s not obviously a camera to the person that you’re talking to,” said Action News Jax Crime and Safety Expert Ken Jefferson.

Jefferson said a body cam is one that is visible and obvious, but with an undercover cam, you probably won't notice it’s there.

“It could be as small as a pen or as small as a lapel pin,” said Jefferson.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill into law last week that requires law enforcement agencies who use body cams to establish policies for using them.

Action News Jax asked JSO for its policy on the equipment used to record Ebron. Bujeda said she will send it in the next day or two and “most will be redacted.”

The video is mostly dark, aside from the occasional strobes of flashlights.

“Look for about three or four tires right next to a tree,” said Ebron in the video.

In the video, Ebron seems to have a hard time remembering the exact spot where he dumped the 2-year-old’s body.

“This is the most familiar thing right here. I remember jumping over this log,” said Ebron.

“Let’s step back a second, get some perspective again,” an officer told him.

You can hear officers’ tense reaction in the video when a neighbor accidentally stumbles on the search.

“Hands up! Hands up! Go in the house! Go in the house! Now!” said one of the officers.

The video the State Attorney’s Office released to Action News Jax does not show the moment investigators find Lonzie’s body.

Cox Media Group