Monday, November 24th, 2014
Stephan: In my view making all police wear cameras that record their activities minute-by-minute while on duty is the reasonable response to the militarization trend. At least as long as those video records are publicly available. My guess, however, is that if such cameras are mandated there will be a major pushback from the law enforcement establishment to keep the videos secret unless they are compelled to release them by a court. So then the pressure will shift to corrupting the law makers and the judiciary so they help to keep the videos secret. Bullies and thugs who seem to make up somewhere between 10-15 per cent of sworn officers do not like exposure.
Project manager Sheriff’s Lt. Chris Marks displays a camera at a news conference in the Monterey Park section of Los Angeles in September. Dozens of sheriff’s deputies at selected stations in Los Angeles County are testing body cameras during a six-month pilot program.
Credit: Nick Ut/AP/File
RIALTO, CALIFORNIA — When five police cruisers entered a mini-mall parking lot earlier this week in Rialto, Calif., it might have signaled trouble.
Three men were handcuffed – two Latinos and an African-American. For about 20 minutes, the police questioned the three men as a crowd gathered. At last, everyone was let go.
There could be a number of reasons why the tension-filled exchange did not descend into violence. But Vernon Tucker, the head of security at the mini-mall, is convinced that the body cameras the […]