Posted on 11/26/2014 7:58:10 AM PST by Pauli67
I have to agree with one thing that Michael Brown's parents are asking for in the official statement they've released after the grand jury decision to not indict Darren Wilson.
Join with us in our campaign to ensure that every police officer working the streets in this country wears a body camera.Can you imagine the great footage which will be produced of people goofing up? On camera? Check this out.
Body cameras are a good idea. I’m sure honest LEOs would have no problem with them.
But, depending on camera angles, we might not have a clear view of everything. In this case, we might not have seen the struggle for the gun in the police car. The race baiters would say that things happened off camera which we can only guess at.
Sure, but what’s to stop either a corrupt officer or a bystander/suspect from destroying the camera? I’m all for solutions for more transparency - but if taxpayer dollars are going to be used, let’s find something efficient that works.
As a cop and a Conservative, I say yes. Every uniformed cop should have a camera. Either a dash-cam with a body mic or an nonintrusive body cam.
Like the cops say, if you’re not doing anything wrong what are you worried about?
This summer, here where I live (Wiesbaden, Germany), the local cops and state made a decision....all cops within a year will have body cams. Just about everyone is agreeable to this now. It forces the cop to think about his comments and it might weed out the bad cops after two or three years.
You might not have a clear view, but you’ll have a view. And more importantly a permanent witness. Cops are people too, and they do tend to behave better when they know they’re being recorded.
In the current environment were I a cop I would want one for my own defense.
Exactly right. And, therein lies the problem.
“I’m sure honest LEOs would have no problem with them.”
Ah, the old “if you don’t have anything to hide, why are you trying to hide it?” BS.
The problem with honest LEOs having them is cops are human too, prone to mistakes, do not know the law perfectly, and fluid unpleasant/dangerous situations can be picked apart later to find SOMETHING to accuse the cop with. Those wearing such cameras will have the constant Sword Of Damocles hanging over them, knowing that everything they do/say can be scrutinized and used against them ... so they’ll stick with “safe” actions, which WILL cost lives.
Can’t recall the article, but was reading where one jurisdiction issued them to all patrol officers and the rate of citizen complaints dropped by orders of magnitude after a bit. I took it that after word got out that video was proving the cops right, folks learned they can’t file a false complaint and get away with it.
Sadly amusing that Mr. Brown’s parents want a law that would validate Officer Wilson’s actions... The evidence is not enough, we need pictures.
Next step: require _EVERYONE_ to wear a camera. Same justification.
1 year of 24/7/365 video in HD quality fits nicely on a $50 1TB drive. Record everything you do, don’t do anything wrong, and we’ll have a great record of what actually happened when conflicts reach the courtroom - right? and you’ll even capture those unexpected special moments of life! and I am pretty sure we’d end up with tons of hilarious footage.
No?
Exactly. The citizenry is under 24/7 surveillance. Its their turn.
Or the cops started behaving better. Probably a bit of both.
Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.
John Adams, ‘Argument in Defense of the Soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials,’ December 1770
A wise man once said “character is who you are when no one is watching”
Have cameras on at ALL interactions with police and there will be millions of dollars saved in filing false charges and/or paying out citizens for abusive cops
Except we aren’t being employed by the government with the specific task of keeping the peace. “Peace officers” are getting into way too bad situations lately, too many dogs getting shot, too many “unarmed youths” getting shot, too many lots of things getting shot, and all being settled on scant witness testimony. Cameras on the cops are a good solution, already used in multiple places, including in the US, takes a lot of guess work out of it.
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