But according to experts, there’s no reason the officers’ body cameras should not have been switched on when they approached Damond’s home.”The policy requires [Minneapolis police officers] to turn the camera on prior to use of force, and it goes on to say if it’s not turned on prior to force, it should be activated as soon as it is safe to do so,” said Teresa Nelson, interim executive director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota.”So we have two officers who, after using deadly force — taking someone’s life — didn’t activate their cameras,” Nelson told NBC News. “That’s astounding to me.”
Source: Lack of Police Bodycam Video in Minneapolis Shooting Astounds Experts – NBC News
What is astounding to me is that Ms. Nelson is called an expert. I have no idea why the officer had his gun out, but after pulling the trigger and shooting somebody, his body and brain are going to be affected by a massive dump of adrenaline plus all the emotional baggage that comes with shooting anybody. To think that somebody (specially a rookie cop) can be calm enough to follow some protocol that probably was never practiced under pressure is asinine.
But then again is the ACLU which needs to raise shit in order to raise funds. This is how false narratives get started and then people get all pissy because the evidence does not end matching the Narrative they invested so heavily with their emotions.
What happens after a shooting in terms of emotions is wonderfully explained by Massad Ayoob in DVD # 7 of the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network. The membership costs $135 a year and the 8 DVDs you get are worth double and triple that just by the info you are gonna get. And believe me, you will learn stuff and correct others you thought you knew.
I’ve got a simple one. A switch in the holster. If the gun is drawn, the camera’s on. Hey it’s even a catchy rhyme!
I’m also in favor of a camera on the gun itself, I’ve seen several body camera vids where the camera is masked by the arms of the officer or isn’t pointed where the event is happening.
I’d also insist that the cameras be running at all times, but not necessarily saving all the footage. This would allow us to retain events where the officer doesn’t have time to turn on the camera beforehand, but will save (say) the previous 15 minutes once the save button is mashed. Forget to hit the button after the event, no qualified immunity and get the same court as a normal citizen.
But then I’m one of the “crazy” people who thinks that police use of force should be held to a much higher standard than an everyday citizen has. As things stand today, the police have to clear a much lower bar than I do to use deadly force and stay out of jail.
I am gonna disagree with the camera on the gun: If there is proper gun discipline, the camera is aiming low anyway and we sure as hell don’t want the camera gun used as a camera instead of gun…
Agree very much with camera always on. Just like cockpit recorders keeping the last 30 minutes of flight and then add non-stop till the camera is secured for evidence. Battery life might be concern.
I’m not proposing that the camera on the gun replace another camera, but that we should see what the gun is pointing at during a shooting.
A criminal officer could aim or mask their body camera to hide their actions, but the camera on the gun recording what the gun is doing is much harder to spoof, because the gun will be aimed at the thing shot and we will be able to see what it’s doing.
I’ve heard some interesting debates on the liability issues. If you have the camera manually turned on, you can get issues like this.
If you have it on all the time w/o a turn off switch, you get issues about privacy (ie bathroom etc. )
A gun camera is a good idea but you also have questions about maintenance if the camera malfunctions. Some cities (cough, chicago, cough) don’t spend much on it and there have been failures even w/ the test units.
If your camera isn’t on, regardless of reason, welcome to the unwashed world of the rest of us officer.
I don’t care WHY.
If they’re on the hook for failed equipment, wanna bet that the officer makes sure his stuff’s in working order? Almost like being actually responsible for your actions is motivational.