Putting Body Cameras On Cops Won't Fix Misconduct, But It's A Good Start
from the the-other-option-is-business-as-usual,-which-is-completely-unacceptable dept
Prompted by the fatal shooting of Ferguson resident Mike Brown, a We the People petition asking the federal government to require body cameras for all law enforcement officers has roared past the 100,000 signature threshold required for a White House response. (Theoretically.)The petition asks for the creation of the "Mike Brown Law," which would mandate the use of body cameras and ensure agencies are supplied with funding needed to comply. The usual caveat about bad laws being named after deceased persons aside, the use of body cameras by police officers is nearing inevitability, what with police misconduct now being a mainstream media topic.
It's not a complete solution, but it is a very valuable addition. Dash cams, which have been in use for years, only capture a small percentage of interactions with civilians. While the use of body cameras will prompt new privacy concerns, the presence of the unblinking eye has been shown to make both police and the public behave better.
The problems with body cameras are both human and technological. Currently, almost every camera system is controlled by police officers. Guidance on what does and doesn't need to be recorded isn't always clear. What may seem to be a deliberate effort to conceal something may just be an actual malfunction. And, like any other system meant to create greater accountability, it can be gamed.
In New Orleans, Armand Bennet, 26, was shot in the forehead during a traffic stop by New Orleans police officer Lisa Lewis. However, the police department did not reveal until much later that Lewis turned off her body camera just before shooting Bennett. Bennett survived and has now been charged under prior warrants for his arrest. It also reviewed that Lewis had had a prior run in with Bennet who escaped about a week earlier.At first glance, it has all the appearance of a deliberate coverup. But there could be dozens of legitimate reasons this encounter wasn't recorded.
The obvious reaction is that she turned it off to conceal the fact that she was about to plug Bennet in the forehead in a moment, and had the presence to do so without creating a conclusive record. But we easily see that because of what happened afterward. Post hoc rationalizations are easily deconstructed.This solution won't -- and can't -- solve everything. Beyond the actions of police officers, there's the technology itself, which is far from perfect. Unfortunately, efforts to improve are being hamstrung by those most resistant to police officers being watched.
Perhaps she turned it off when she thought the confrontation was over. Perhaps she turned it off by accident. Perhaps she desperately wishes now she had kept it on, to prove Bennet took some action to justify her shooting him in the forehead. Or, as appears most likely, perhaps she turned it off so that there would be no video of what she was about to do.
When an officer presses record, the camera saves the 30 seconds of images that led up to that moment, but not the audio. The manufacturer designed the buffer to protect the privacy of police officers — and to appeal to resistant police unions — but it also means the cameras may miss crucial noises or words that trigger an incident.Even a more-complete version of the events (compared to gathering eyewitness statements and weighing those against police reports) may still be missing crucial evidence, thanks to the efforts of police unions. As we've noted here earlier, legislators and government officials are becoming more receptive to the use of body cameras. Those raising the loudest objections are the erstwhile mouthpieces of the officers themselves.
The mayor of Miami-Dade sees the potential benefits of body cameras.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Giménez is calling for hundreds of the county's police officers to be equipped with video cameras, weeks after after a police involved shooting in the Midwest triggered days of violence.But Miami-Dade's police union wants none of it.
As national outrage about alleged police misconduct in Ferguson, Mo. continues, Giménez is pushing to make body cameras mandatory for all county patrol officers. His proposed budget is calling for 500 cameras, which would cover about half of Miami-Dade's patrol force.
"The body cam is a way to assure that there's confidence in the police department, that if they had been wearing a body cam, say, in the incident that happened in Missouri, there would be no debate as to what exactly happened," said Giménez...
Next year's Miami-Dade County budget calls for $1 million for the body cameras, with an additional $400,000 in operating cost and for the data storage required.
In a written grievance filed with the county’s police chief, a union lawyer wrote that wearing the cameras “will distract officers from their duties, and hamper their ability to act and react in dangerous situations …”The one-button operation of most cameras would seem to be something most officers will swiftly become accustomed to, rather than the huge impediment the police union portrays it as. But according to the union, nearly anything at all -- even a quick tap of the "RECORD" button -- could mean the difference between life and death (of police officers, that is…).
[T]he Miami-Dade police union [also] cited the distraction caused by officers having to activate the camera before approaching a traffic stop or potential arrest. “As anyone with knowledge of police training and tactics knows, if an officer hesitates for even a second in a life threatening situation, it can cost that officer his or her life, and/or put the lives of others at risk,” the complaint reads.I don't think anyone believes this hyperbole, not even the unions themselves. The only reason they're against body cameras is because they firmly believe police officers shouldn't be held accountable for their misconduct. They completely ignore the results shown by law enforcement agencies that have put body cameras into use -- that they reduce both the use of excessive force and allegations of police misconduct.
Body cameras aren't a cure-all, but they're much more beneficial than resistant police officers and unions give them credit for. It's the direction our nation's law enforcement agencies need to be headed. It's ridiculous that we're still almost wholly reliant on something as malleable as police statements and eyewitness interviews. A camera isn't completely neutral, but it's a hell of a lot better than what we're normally given to work with.
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Filed Under: accountability, body cameras, police, police misconduct, privacy
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Button Press Too Hard? Try This One Easy Fix!
If you really think it is necessary, a button press to SUPPRESS the recording might be acceptable, for when an officer is using the restroom, intimidating a witness, or engaging in any other action requiring privacy.
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Before people comment saying things like "what about going to the bathroom", I have an answer to that as well -- make the camera an integral part of the cops' holster. When the cop is doing something not job-related, he can remove his gun for privacy.
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I dunno. It was just a spitball idea.
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Besides, the content should be secured so it cannot be deleted or accessed easily so there wouldn't be any privacy concern (unless, of course, the cop misbehave then the contents of the camera would be verified but to a very narrow time frame).
Thinking about it the cops would still have more privacy than most Americans since the NSA has no limitations in digging all the data regardless of "flags".
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they're handing out tanks, torpedoes and nukes ,body cams shouldn't an issue ..right.
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Auto Record
If the situation requires one of these 'tools' it should be recorded. No off switch while a 'tool' is out of it's holster.
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Here's how to remind them:
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you end the whole He said, she said thing. Whatever happened in Ferguson this guy WAS a criminal. Why do Blacks have a cop a attitude? A Police officer tells you to get off the street, you don't go off. This guy got shot, Oh let the Criminal justice system work! If you want to PEACEFULLY protest, that's your right. You start acting like a thug and attach to police, throw molotov cocktail, break into buildings, and burn businesses down, what the F did they do??? You're burning down your own Neighborhood!!! Your butt should be thrown in JAIL.
So what if the police have their Military stuff. If you're not doing anything wrong, nothing will happen. You can also thank OBAMA for all that hardware. You can hear it from his own words how there's should be a Civilian force just as powerful as the Military!!! What, you just voted for the guy because he was black? Here's a clip of it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt2yGzHfy7s
YOU VOTED FOR THAT!!!
Like other places, Property values will take a dump! I sure wouldn't want to live in this town! Why would anyone rebuild their business? Those left will put the Bars in the Windows, and the town will really go into the dumps. People buying up the places will be slum lords.
I can point out a couple cases of a BLACK Cop shooting shooting a Un-Armed white person!!! One was shoot for saying the N word to the Black cop!!! Was there Riets in the streets for that? Was there even much in the news about it? NO. Did everyone just go sand say the Cop was guilty without knowing any of the facts? One of those persons was also a Unarmed VET!!!! The case is far, far worse!!! Here's some links!!!
http://www.texasgopvote.com/issues/restore-families/justice-james-black-cop-shoots-unarmed-w hite-veteran-orange-tx-over-racial-slur-0057061
http://www.wnd.com/2014/08/black-cop-kills-white-man- media-hide-race/
With Ferguson, the COP is already guilty. Anything other then that and everyone will be in the streets rioting once again!!! Facts don't matter, and haven't from the start. I wasn't there, I have no idea what happened. Only a few people do. All this Vandalizing is a joke! What does doing that do? Steeling stuff proves what? Oh wait, you're a criminal thug. You're really just there to cause trouble. The case really doesn't matter.
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Who watches the watchmen? We do. And we, as a populace, have forgottent hat we need to watch for actual wrongdoing, instead going after perceived wrongdoings.
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Solution
After camera is activated, it must be manually turned off.
Once camera is turned off, the footage is transmitted to an offsite location overseen by civilian department / Internal Affairs, out of the reach of the department of the officer. If the footage is tampered with before transmission, the footage is automatically transmitted.
Need storage for all those videos? I know of a fancy new facility in the heart of Utah that might be able to handle the load. (Granted, in my fairy tale that are these procedures, the NSA is no longer in control of said facility).
If footage is deemed to have been manipulated or the camera turned off too early, the Officer loses a paycheck AUTOMATICALLY, before review of the content is conducted.
If the officer is deemed by the overseeing agency to have broken procedure/law/someone's face without cause, the settlement is paid by the police union. That officer is then referred to Internal Affairs for reprimanding.
/dream
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Re: Solution
Also if a car door is opened.
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Don't allow them to call for backup, that's even more valuable seconds lost.
Don't allow them to run the plates either, more seconds lost.
Heck, don't even bother finding evidence that a crime has been or may be committed, put those precious seconds to good use arresting or shooting the civvie for your protection and find a crime to charge them with later.
Remember, the most important goal of law enforcement is to protect the life of the officer!
-- The Miami-Dade Police Union
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Quite simply, the camera should ALWAYS be on, no matter what. Inside the station, they could be treated like guns, you take them off and lock them up in a safe place.
Moreover, the camera's should automatically be recording and downloading to a black box or network device that the officer cannot control or tamper with. Set up a wireless data network, and upload the videos realtime to a backup server. Make it so that everything the officer does outside of the station is recorded, noted, and kept a copy of - no matter what they do.
Officers should know and understand that the camera is on all of the time, end of discussion.
Now, the inverse of that is the public will know that the camera (and microphone) are on all of the time, and that everything they say or do in the presence of an officer will be recorded. All those stories about cases of police violence dropping when the camera are installed very likely means that the members of the public who would choose to fight and then yell "police brutality" and file a false report are no longer doing it - they know their actions are recorded.
Giving the officer the responsibility and the ability to turn the camera on and off is just begging for abuses.
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For what's it's worth, I also think that police cruisers should be GPS tracked at all times, and the status of lights, sirens, and so on by data logged as well. Sync it all up with a radio log of police dispatch, and you have a pretty good indication of all that was going on, held in a manner that cannot be tampered with easily.
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Treating it as evidence as long as they have it sounds good too, make tampering or destruction of the data a punishable crime.
As far as duration of keeping that 'evidence', I think a week, maybe a month tops would do it, unless there was a complaint filed that involved the recorded data, at which point it would be kept until everything was settled.
At first I thought that the GPS tracking might be a bit overkill, and then I remembered how fond police are of automatic plate tracking, and any worry was quickly dismissed.
If they insist that tracking the plates of regular people is nothing to be concerned about, I see no problem if their cars, and the status related to them, was also tracked.
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reasons not to record 24/7
Sex in cars. You will have to trust the government to do the right thing with a library of thousands of blow job videos.
They will also have a record of adultery, filthy homes and drunks acting like drunks.
The days of dumping a bag of weed or a six pack of beer and telling kids to get lost would be over.
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Re: reasons not to record 24/7
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I can hardly wait...
The idea is good, as it also provides a check on the public's actions when interacting with a cop. Harder to edit your cell phone videos to remove your friend throwing the first punch when the officer has his own recorded defense.
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Examples please? More people are killed by police officers than police officers by people. Who is at risk again?
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Judge Judy is not a real judge in real court. She cannot issue court orders.
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Suggestions
Pedestrian Cops should have their cameras triggered as soon as they radio in their intentions to investigate something, and the feed should be displayed at PD HQ as well.
In both cases, there should be a manual ON switch to allow a cop to record any event at any time and all such records are again broadcast directly to a monitor at PD HQ.
Turning the camera OFF should signal a report to the PD HQ that a unit has been disabled. PD HQ has the ability to turn any unit On or OFF remotely.
All such body cameras and HQ monitor units should have a 4 terabyte hard drive minimum.
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Re: Suggestions
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I saw the PD HQ connection as a back-up, since cops generally keep their HQ informed of their whereabouts and their actions anyway, simply for their own safety.
If a cop reports his/her intended actions to HQ, then both the body cam and the HQ monitor system record the events as they unfold. Losing BOTH copies should alert an honest court to intentional obfuscation.
Of course, if a cop turns the camera off, all you have is the report that the cop turned the camera off. I suppose the cameras could be manufactured without an OFF button to prevent this. But then the cops will simply smash them against a wall, or crush them underfoot, unless they're made to extremely damage resistant standards.
Of course, truly criminal cops who use their badge as a pry-bar to extort money, drugs and services from people and steal shit, won't report their intentions to HQ anyway, so only those in cruisers would be affected by the automatic on switch when leaving the vehicle.
Lots of "IF/THEN"s of course, that only time and experience might solve....
Perhaps the best way to get cops to use these devices properly, is to start a TV show called COPCAM, and air the best "positive" clips 5 days a week in a one hour show, naming and profiling the individual cops whose clips are aired.
If we can't trust their integrity, perhaps we can use their lust for notoriety and fame.
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On duty = camera on, excecptions for undercover work by warrant only
All LEOs should have body cameras with sound which are on whenever the officer is on duty, the sole exception being undercover operatives whose lack of a camera and recording device has been approved by a judge. All the niceties about on/off switches can be left aside -- let the cops turn them on and off whenever, but...
Put the on-off switch somewhere where suspects cannot access it in the course of an arrest and implement a few of the suggestions up thread for procedural reforms to give the camera requirement teeth:
I'd thought of scott13's suggestion of camera/sound recorder off -- citizen's word trumps the cop's word in testimony about police conduct -- but I also like his docking the office a day's pay for leaving the camera off while on duty, and I also like the suggestion posted by Anonymous Coward at #9 (though with my exception for court-authorized undercover work): a police officer without his or her camera/sound recorder loses police powers.
And, have an always-on GPS tracker as part of every non-undercover cop's kit.
I'm not sure where the recordings and GPS records should be stored. Maybe each of the several states can create an Office of Good Police Conduct, attached to whatever agency deals with civil rights, rather than any police agency, to run servers for the purpose and handle FOIA requests for footage and GPS records relevant to particular incidents -- the Feds can do likewise for the records generated by Federal LEOs.
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I must mention that out of the many there are some great officers that are professional and do protect and serve the public. Unfortunately, they are the minority in the, otherwise, wonderful city of Miami.
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I must mention that out of the many there are some great officers that are professional and do protect and serve the public. Unfortunately, they are the minority in the, otherwise, wonderful city of Miami.
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