This is an interesting debate going on. I believe Body Cams are great evidence, but should everything they record be open to the public by a simple records request or should there need to be justification or Probable cause? I have interacted with police on duty so I know I'm on some of that stored video, shouldn't I be protected from that video being made public? I believe that even police while on duty, have some expectation of privacy. I want the cameras to be on all the time, but I want the police and public to have their privacy protected. I think the video should only be released if there is a crime, report of a crime a complaint or something else that would be considered probable cause for viewing.
Well if the camera was off, there is no video to request. So this only pertains to actual video captured.
My point is there seems to be several officer involved interfaces where the cameras are not on, they should be on when ever responding or interfacing with the public. I also do not believe the footage should be released to the public or media.
Gotcha, I agree. And I think not having it public would reduce that. I know if I was a cop, I wouldn't want my every word and move on public record. If they knew the video was protected, they would probably more willing to keep them on. I think if there was a switch maybe on the holster, where when the gun was removed the camera automatically turned on would help also.
The cameras are there to protect everyone. You have to take into consideration what is recorded on the video. Criminal evidence and such should be at the discretion of the agency and the District Attorney to release to the public; at least while a case is being prosecuted. Our agency recently went through and incident where the media wanted video footage and we told them no to protect all parties involved. Besides media organizations now days crop and only show the video that is the most compelling and often leave out key points to receive an audience reaction. They want to boost ratings for their news show no matter what the expense of the people in it and most of the time this completely paints law enforcement in a bad light. Citizens are quick to make a judgement with little information based on what the media provides. Additionally if a case ends up in a jury trial, it's harder to find jurors who have not already drawn conclusions due to media exposure. And finally when you are out in public, there is no expectation to privacy and anyone with a video camera can film just about anything they want.
There are so many tough decisions cops make every single day that I doubt many people realize it. Any poor decision on scene can result in disaster. The public expects cops to "just do their job" and be neutral in every scenario. There are so many shades of grey in life which makes that impossible. Tough job and the best ones balance the entire equation before making the best decision....Hats off to them Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
I say no, unless you are willing to strap one on at your job for public to watch. We have the "perfect" disease in this country. Everyone has to be perfect, from cops, teachers, and refs. I don't know how cops do it, I resigned as a ref this year, tired of it. I listen to two guys complain about the shots a 20 year old was taking in a game, guys no one's perfect, just talk is perfect. Cops are task with a tough job and not paid enough IMO. Mistakes will be made, we have to learn to deal with it. Get rid of reviews it all sports, the call is the call.
No, they only cause the general public to have a opinion in a matter that they were not involved in or know anything about. They witness and see something in a very small lapse of time unlike the poor Officer who witnessed the situation in it's entirety and under great distress and emotions. Police Officer and Soldier the 2 hardest jobs there is IMHO and hats off to them both
