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Cameras On Cops: Coming To a Town Near You

An anonymous reader writes "The trend of police officers using body-mounted cameras is going nationwide. As we discussed last month, the NYPD is pondering the cameras, and the LAPD is actively testing them. A town in California (population ~100,000) has tested them with seeming success: incidents involving officers using force have dropped more than half, and citizen complaints have dropped almost 90%. '[C]ops are required to turn on their cameras in any confrontation with a suspect or citizen. The footage is uploaded to computers when they return to the station, and is typically retained for one to three months.' The town's success is even drawing interest from police departments in other countries. The ACLU likes the idea, but has problems with it in practice, so they're opposing the trend (PDF). They worry about privacy abuses, and they want citizens caught on camera to be allowed equal access to the footage."

59 of 264 comments (clear)

  1. Won't do any good. by rahvin112 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Fact is as long as they can turn the cameras on or off and the video is in police custody this will do almost nothing to reduce police abuse. Either the camera will be off, the video will be "lost" or the recording device will be "broken". They want the video for convictions, but they will make damn sure the video is lost or the camera is off when they go to beat the shit out of some innocent person.

    They should be required to wear camera, the cameras should record while they are on shift and video should be stored by an independent third party. Any missing footage should result in someone being fired.

    1. Re:Won't do any good. by NotDrWho · · Score: 4, Funny

      Yeah, but it's great for when you need admissible footage of some criminal screaming "DICK JONES! I WORK FOR DICK JONES! HE OWNS THE COPS!"

      --
      SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
    2. Re:Won't do any good. by mythosaz · · Score: 4, Insightful

      A lot of the good (from the police perspective) is that people don't act like jerks when they're clearly being filmed. Amazingly you're less likely to be a dick to cops when the camera is on you. In-car cameras turn on and off automatically when they have the lights and sirens on. Pull a guy over, and video gets shot - period. Wearables don't have that yet, but we'll get there.

      I know that even mentioning this on /. gets you modded to oblivion, but the overwhelming majority of police are good people with a genuine desire to do good in the world -- and they're not out there looking to bust heads and turn off their cameras...especially in a world where every last person on a planet has their own camera and might catch it. There's obviously a good number of well documented "bad cop" cases, but there's a lot of cops, and bad cop stories make news, because it's a big violation of our trust.

      The ACLU and others will fight for transparency with those videos - and the videos will keep cops and people safer.

    3. Re:Won't do any good. by sharknado · · Score: 2

      I wouldn't say it will do 'almost nothing', since the stats clearly show otherwise.

      Still, if police were *required* to submit video evidence for any trial that involves an officer or have the case dismissed, it would certainly cut down on police corruption. Police wouldn't be able to use the 'oh, my camera was broken' or 'I forgot to turn it on' as an excuse.

    4. Re:Won't do any good. by aardvarkjoe · · Score: 4, Informative

      Fact is as long as they can turn the cameras on or off and the video is in police custody this will do almost nothing to reduce police abuse. Either the camera will be off, the video will be "lost" or the recording device will be "broken". They want the video for convictions, but they will make damn sure the video is lost or the camera is off when they go to beat the shit out of some innocent person.

      And yet, the actual evidence cited in the summary shows the exact opposite result of your theory.

      Kind of funny, considering that you also posted a comment about how the anti-vaccination movement ignores real evidence that contradicts their views.

      --

      How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
    5. Re:Won't do any good. by sjames · · Score: 5, Interesting

      It will never happen, but if a law was passed that when the video is unavailable, the citizen's report is presumed to be true and complete, I'll bet those cameras would suddenly get a lot more reliable.

    6. Re:Won't do any good. by aardvarkjoe · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Not only this -- I suspect that a large part of the 90% drop in complaints has to do with the fact that it makes it a lot harder for people to lie about their interaction with a police officer.

      --

      How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
    7. Re:Won't do any good. by SuricouRaven · · Score: 2

      Until the day the first rapist or murderer discovers the camera really was broken - at which point the media will rally against this 'loophole' that allows serious criminals to 'get off on a technicality' and there will be immense public pressure to undo it.

    8. Re:Won't do any good. by smooth+wombat · · Score: 3, Interesting

      makes it a lot harder for people to lie about their interaction with a police officer.

      I remember a case where a woman claimed she was beaten in the back of a patrol car by the two responding officers. Too bad for her there was an in-car camera pointed to the back seat which clearly showed her yelling and screaming, telling the cops to stop beating her, and she was the only one in the scene the whole time.

      --
      We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
    9. Re:Won't do any good. by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Not only this -- I suspect that a large part of the 90% drop in complaints has to do with the fact that it makes it a lot harder for people to lie about their interaction with a police officer.

      I agree with this, BUT...

      Having been a victim of what I definitely consider to be police abuse... in a situation in which video that was clearly being made somehow later "went missing", I also have to agree that this very much works both ways.

      I agree with the ACLU, to the extent that I agree there should be independent oversight of these videos, and any "missing" video should be a cause for reprimand at the very LEAST.

      Because I also happen to live in an area that has experienced many years of police "incidents" in which innocent people somehow end up injured or dead, but there was no independent investigation, and the internal "investigations" have almost invariably exonerated the policeman, even when no reasonable person looking at the same evidence would (or does) conclude that no wrong had been committed.

      I agree that most police are probably fine people. I even have relatives who are or have been police. But the few who aren't good can cause a hell of a lot of damage, especially when there is more than one of them and they scratch each others' backs.

    10. Re:Won't do any good. by Comrade+Ogilvy · · Score: 2

      I generally agree.

      I would also suspect that the police officers recognize that if the recording shows the first words out of their mouth sound professional and reasonably polite, then they are home free in the eyes of the jury if the suspect suddenly seems hostile. Sounding professional and polite is also likely to illicit less hostile responses.

      For most police officers, this is no change in behavior. But there are surely some marginal individual officers who will build better habits when they see how it serves their personal interests.

    11. Re:Won't do any good. by Copid · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This is the best part of it IMO. It doesn't matter whose fault the problems were. Was it the suspect misbehaving? Was it an abusive cop? Is it a liar trying to get an officer in trouble after the fact? On the whole, it's a mix of all of them, but we don't need to know the actual mix to appreciate the fact that it seems to be better for everybody.

      It's very hard for police unions to fight against something that clearly reduces their physical danger and exposure to complaints. If they save face by pretending that the cameras are making the "bad guys" behave and that it wasn't a police problem in the first place, that's fine by me.

      --
      An interesting anagram of "BANACH TARSKI" is "BANACH TARSKI BANACH TARSKI"
    12. Re:Won't do any good. by TubeSteak · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I know that even mentioning this on /. gets you modded to oblivion, but the overwhelming majority of police are good people with a genuine desire to do good in the world -- and they're not out there looking to bust heads and turn off their cameras...especially in a world where every last person on a planet has their own camera and might catch it. There's obviously a good number of well documented "bad cop" cases, but there's a lot of cops, and bad cop stories make news, because it's a big violation of our trust.

      The problem isn't a small minority of bad cops, it's the alleged majority of good cops that don't immediately report and ostracize the bad cops.

      You end up with a police culture that intentionally turns a blind eye to bad behavior.
      That's not lawful good, no matter how you try and spin it.

      --
      [Fuck Beta]
      o0t!
    13. Re:Won't do any good. by jythie · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yeah, but one side has the ability to mysteriously disappear the recordings while the other does not.

    14. Re:Won't do any good. by SecurityGuy · · Score: 3, Interesting

      IIRC, there's some evidence principle that if you should have records of a thing and I claim those records exonerate me, if you can't provide the records, then the court assumes they say what I claim they do. A principle like that would work well here. If you had or should have had camera footage of our interaction and I claim you punched me in the nose, if your recording is "lost" or your camera was "broken", then you punched me in the nose.

      If ya don't like that, don't lose your recording and make sure your cameras work.

    15. Re:Won't do any good. by JackieBrown · · Score: 4, Informative

      I was dating a female sheriff. She was laughing about how a police friend of hers would like to sneak E in his dates drinks and how one girl caught him and swapped drinks.

      The fact that she found it funny, that all of his police friends knew he was date raping these women, really put a dent in my view of the police.

      And the worst thing is, they would probably treat a civilian that did the same thing as a filthy monster.

    16. Re:Won't do any good. by mythosaz · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You reported your friend too, right ?

    17. Re:Won't do any good. by PRMan · · Score: 2

      She even banged her forehead into the cage repeatedly IIRC.

      --
      Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
    18. Re:Won't do any good. by anagama · · Score: 3, Insightful

      A picture is worth a thousand words, but a jury will sleep through a negative inference instruction.

      --
      What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
    19. Re:Won't do any good. by FuzzNugget · · Score: 5, Insightful

      the overwhelming majority of police are good people with a genuine desire to do good in the world

      Any cop who consciously neglects to report a corrupt colleague or subordinate is equally corrupt.

      Are you really suggesting the "overwhelming majority" of "good people" in uniform have no idea what their colleagues and subordinates are up to and are completely unaware of their corruption? Do you have idea how minutely detailed the paperwork is required to be and how glaringly obvious it is when details are "missing" or plainly false?

      Has there ever been a single situation where one corrupt jackass is tazing some innocent law-abider for "non-compliance" and one of the five other cops standing around him said, "what the fuck are you doing? You can't just torture someone into submission!" ... of course not, they readily assist him by wrenching the victim's arms to put him/her in cuffs to be dragged into the cruiser (or worse).

      Until we get rid of this "protect the brotherhood above all else" attitude that's heavily ingrained in police culture, corruption will continue to reign and continually worsen.

    20. Re:Won't do any good. by JackieBrown · · Score: 2

      Wow, it didn't even occur to me to report it. But you are right, I should have.

    21. Re:Won't do any good. by Vermonter · · Score: 2

      I know that even mentioning this on /. gets you modded to oblivion

      Looks like you got modded so far in to oblivion you looped around to +5. Impressive!

    22. Re:Won't do any good. by Jiro · · Score: 2

      Why would people file complaints of actual police misconduct when there's no camera available, but suddenly stop filing those complaints when the camera was there (even if the footage was "lost")?

      Some reports are real and some are fake. Cameras reduce the number of fake reports, but they don't reduce the number of real reports (since the police will "lose" the recording in a real incident). The end result is that the total number of reports of police misconduct goes down, but actual police misconduct doesn't go down.

    23. Re:Won't do any good. by alexo · · Score: 2

      The problem isn't a small minority of bad cops, it's the alleged majority of good cops that don't immediately report and ostracize the bad cops.

      a.k.a. bad cops

    24. Re:Won't do any good. by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      There's obviously a good number of well documented "bad cop" cases, but there's a lot of cops, and bad cop stories make news, because it's a big violation of our trust.

      I tend not to pay much attention the news, but my problem is not so much good cop/bad cop but stupid cop. Maybe I have a nostalgia goggles, but when I grew up, cops wore blue trousers and a blue shirt and shoes, like an office worker. You'd see them walking the beat and they were friendly and said hello. Now every time I see cops they have commando boots, cargo pants and a combat vest with guns and tasers and all sorts of GI Joe paraphernalia. They have visible tattoos and wrap around sunglasses and all like look like wannabe gangster thugs. It makes it hard for me to teach my kids to respect the law when the create that image for themselves.

    25. Re:Won't do any good. by s.petry · · Score: 2

      I know that even mentioning this on /. gets you modded to oblivion, but the overwhelming majority of police are good people with a genuine desire to do good in the world -- and they're not out there looking to bust heads and turn off their cameras...

      I happen to agree with this perspective, but do notice a huge difference in training Police get today compared to when I was growing up long long ago. Police today are trained to believe that everyone out there is criminal. Not all officers buy into this, but it is being taught and drilled into them. Police are also taught that they are supposed to stick together no matter what. In the 60s and 70s this happened to some degree but it was not discussed as training material and only used when questionable methods were used to catch real criminals. Unlike today where cops are filmed beating a mentally unstable homeless person to death, or shooting a def person for not obeying voice commands, and fellow officers don't speak out.

      I'm not biased, and will tell you openly that the majority of people claiming police abuse on youtube are deserving of brash treatment and crossed the line. I also believe that most people joining the force have good intentions.

      I think the cameras will help, but as you mention only when they can not be tampered with. I think the training officers receive should revert back to decades ago where they are grilled that their job is to defend and respect is earned even with a uniform. I believe cops that turn whistle blower should be given medals and receive praise to boot.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    26. Re:Won't do any good. by Rich0 · · Score: 2

      Agreed. There is already precedence - if a corporation destroys documents sought during an investigation the court will treat those documents as if they were incriminating. Video should be no different - absence of video on its face should be sufficient to exclude any testimony by the officer or evidence collected by them.

    27. Re:Won't do any good. by Frobnicator · · Score: 2

      Agreed. There is already precedence - if a corporation destroys documents sought during an investigation the court will treat those documents as if they were incriminating. Video should be no different - absence of video on its face should be sufficient to exclude any testimony by the officer or evidence collected by them.

      Quite true in theory.

      In practice, bad cops already delete video, edit video, and turn off cameras during incidents. With no evidence of the abuse and the bad cops lying about it, judges rule in the officer's favor. See TFA for several court cases where this was demonstrated, including one where multiple officers turned off their cameras when the suspect was making a fuss, then they all turned them back on and the suspect was seriously injured and had supposedly resisted and injured himself. Judges still sided with the cops.

      --
      //TODO: Think of witty sig statement
  2. Re:Broken camera by GerryGilmore · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Look, there are always going to be abuses of ANY system, but anything that helps raise the bar of accountability is inherently a Good Thing(TM) so please stop the whining about how it's not totally perfect.

  3. It's all fun and games until the NSA gets involved by calzones · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Just wait, til the cops start uploading all their footage to a central server for the NSA to add to its collection so they can start cataloging every social interaction that cops see while on their beat. Someone who's face matches a potential subject of interest in a database will get flagged when they show up on the footage and the NSA will then start tracking them based on geolocation data in the footage.

    --
    Asking people to think is like asking them to buy you a new car
  4. Just try to do the same by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Run around and point a video cam at a cop.

    Or ... better don't.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  5. Prediction by letherial · · Score: 3, Funny

    I predict that these 'cameras' will have a higher then normal fail rate.

  6. Re:Broken camera by lgw · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This! Every system can be defeated, but each new system that has to be defeated is good. Plus, for anything serious more than one cop will be there, and stories about "accidental damage to devices" become even less likely to fly when it coincidentally affects all 6 officers who responded to the same incident, and no one else that day.

    --
    Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  7. Re:Broken camera by mythosaz · · Score: 2

    The accused should be informed that they are being recorded or it can't be used against them in a criminal proceeding (rights against self-incrimination)

    IANAL, but it'll be like any other police recording. Spontaneous admissions will likely still be admissible, but questioning would likely be subject to Miranda rules.

    *shrug*

  8. Re:Broken camera by spacepimp · · Score: 2

    I smell what you're steppin in. I'd like to make certain the data is only accessible for a particular instance or violation. It shouldn't be allowed to be used for mass population facial recognition, or NSA data grabs.

  9. Incidents dropped by 50%, I wonder why? by Jaime2 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So, when cops have cameras, reported incidents of police using force dropped by half. I believe that means that 50% of uses of force were unwarranted or unnecessary, otherwise why would they have stopped?

    This sound like pretty clear evidence that police think they can get away with bending the law as long as no one (except the victim) sees them.

    1. Re:Incidents dropped by 50%, I wonder why? by Copid · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Either that or people see cameras on them and are less likely to run or resist arrest. But most likely a mixture of the two. I'm sure there's a lot of misbehavior on both sides when the cameras are off. It looks like the cameras are a big win for everybody.

      --
      An interesting anagram of "BANACH TARSKI" is "BANACH TARSKI BANACH TARSKI"
    2. Re:Incidents dropped by 50%, I wonder why? by Megane · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You forgot D) it's possible that some or many of the reports of excessive force were bullshit, and this weeds out false accusations.

      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
  10. The ACLU really is obstructionist, aren't they? by dave562 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I used to think that the ACLU was a force for good, and they might be. But they do not know when to quit, or compromise on anything. Here we are finally getting accountability for law enforcement, and now they want to stop the program?

    I wonder if anyone told them that nothing is perfect and life is all about compromises.

    1. Re:The ACLU really is obstructionist, aren't they? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Let's put this in a different light to show you why the ACLU took this position. You are a programmer writing the ruleset to be used to prioritize some set of functions in your project. Once you are finished, you send your ruleset (a bill to be voted on) to committee for peer review and feed back. Maybe call it the "beta" version of your ruleset.

      The ACLU(quality control staff) is basically telling the lawmakers(you, the grunt programmer) that while this bill(ruleset) they want to pass has the general idea, there are a number of glaring holes that will be exploited to cause predictable and unpredictable outcomes. Instead of just passing your swiss cheese ruleset along to later be patched up, the ACLU is saying to send it back to be done correctly.

      So really, they are trying to help implement a good idea in a positive fashion, as opposed to letting people take a good idea and muck it up with potential failure.

    2. Re:The ACLU really is obstructionist, aren't they? by Frobnicator · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I used to think that the ACLU was a force for good, and they might be. But they do not know when to quit, or compromise on anything. Here we are finally getting accountability for law enforcement, and now they want to stop the program?

      Obviously you didn't RTFA.

      The ACLU complaint was that while the law requires LEOs to carry the cameras, it does not mandate that they actually record anything, it does not mandate that the recordings be made available to the citizens who were arrested, interviewed, or interacted with, and it doesn't specify a data retention policy.

      The ACLU agreed that cameras are good. They want mandatory recordings rather than optional recordings. They want the complete, unedited recording to be available to the citizens involved. And they want a data retention policy so officers cannot delete the material the same day, nor can they keep it indefinitely.

      The ACLU's 2-page comment (see the article) cited specific cases where these were problems. One had multiple officers turn cameras off when a citizen didn't cooperate, then they turned the cameras back on to reveal a citizen who was badly injured, with the official report being they had injured themselves while resisting arrest. Also it cites accounts where officers clearly edited footage by removing potentially incriminating bits, and of officers deleting the recordings the same day rather than filing them as part of the reports of their associated incidents.

      --
      //TODO: Think of witty sig statement
  11. Re:Broken camera by Comrade+Ogilvy · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Also most incidents of bad behavior start off with police officers who walk in ambiguous situations with the initial intention to behave professionally (e.g. the officers who beat up Rodney King were not intending to lose control of their emotions and the situation when the encounter started). Those police officers will not turn off their cameras.

  12. Re:Does it record sound? by amicusNYCL · · Score: 3, Funny

    If I really want to tell the cops to shut off all of their cameras, I'm sure they will be happy to oblige.

    --
    "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
  13. Nonsense by Uberbah · · Score: 4, Insightful

    A lot of the good (from the police perspective) is that people don't act like jerks when they're clearly being filmed.

    Everyone knows that cops have had video cameras mounted in their cars, for decades. Neat how you skipped the parts of the summary talking about how police violence and complaints have dropped dramatically where these cameras have been used.

    Almost like it's the cops who are the real jerks here. Interesting.

    but the overwhelming majority of police are good people with a genuine desire to do good in the world -- and they're not out there looking to bust heads and turn off their cameras...especially in a world where every last person on a planet has their own camera and might catch it

    The problem with the "aww, it's just a few bad apples" canard is that one bad one rots the whole barrel. When all your "good cops" are willing to commit perjury to cover up for the "bad apples", there are no good cops.

    1. Re:Nonsense by mythosaz · · Score: 2

      I'll ignore your "all cops are perjurers" tirade.

      As to the rest:

      A lot of the good (from the police perspective) is that people don't act like jerks when they're clearly being filmed.

      Everyone knows that cops have had video cameras mounted in their cars, for decades. Neat how you skipped the parts of the summary talking about how police violence and complaints have dropped dramatically where these cameras have been used.

      Almost like it's the cops who are the real jerks here. Interesting.

      It's almost like both sides benefit from there being a camera on them.

      Cameras help.

      Which side of the confrontation is the problem is a matter for (people like you) to debate.

    2. Re:Nonsense by mythosaz · · Score: 2

      It's almost like both sides benefit from there being a camera on them.

      It's almost like you don't know that Cops has been on the air for 25 years. Whether the person is innocent and being hassled by power tripping cops, or an actual "bad guy" worrying about going to jail for the meth stashed in his trunk, the very last thing on their minds is whether or not they're on video.

      As best as I can tell from watching Cops these last 25 years, most of the people on cops are either (a) drunk, or (b) drunk.

  14. Re:Broken camera by CohibaVancouver · · Score: 2

    so please stop the whining about how it's not totally perfect

    You must be new here.

    This is Slashdot, where perfect is the enemy of good, and the edge use-case wins, EVERY time.

  15. fascist apologist by Uberbah · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I suspect you should have a good chat with Kelly Thomas and revise your storyline. Or read up on LEO departments stealing millions from people not convicted of any crime via "asset forfeiture". Or how hundreds of thousands of mostly black and brown men are stopped in NYC without probable suspicion under "stop and frisk".

    1. Re:fascist apologist by Uberbah · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Who do you guys even think you're kidding here? When was the last time you heard of a LEO held in contempt of court for perjury or falsifying evidence, much less charged by a DA, much less convicted? The cops that murdered Kelly Thomas by bashing his head in as he screamed for help from his father were just let off scott free. You have to have something as egregious as a cop shooting a handcuffed man lying facedown on the pavement, on fucking video, before they serve time. And even then, they serve less time than a football player who shot himself in the leg.

      So again, who do you even think you're kidding here, Slick? Try and tell us with a straight face that if you give a group of people a huge amount of authority, with next to zero accountability, that their authority wont be abused on a constant basis.

    2. Re:fascist apologist by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 2

      Actually, the Tenaha TX scandal resulted in an admission of guilt, a mountain of stolen personal assets, a big settlement and a change in the town's police procedures, but the cops involved were quietly eased into other jobs without serving the five consecutive life sentences that would have been morally justified by their actions.

      Details: https://www.aclu.org/blog/crim...

  16. Why not use with facial recognition? by LordZardoz · · Score: 2

    If an officer with a camera is in the presence of a man who facial recognition flags as a possible match for someone with an open warrant out on them, it would probably be a good thing for the officer to be alerted about the match.

    Now, of course what I am thinking of is the situation where some guy with an open murder warrent in Florida is spotted laying low in Wyoming. Having that guy picked up is probably a good thing.

    I wonder exactly what sort of abuse you foresee with that situation? I am sure there are things that can go wrong.

    END COMMUNICATION

  17. Re:good for the goose? by roc97007 · · Score: 2

    Do you really believe in your heart of hearts that if a cop commits a crime during an altercation, that the video won't somehow get lost?

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  18. Re:Broken camera by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If you can't tell the difference between a cane and a rifle from a distance of thirty feet, you have no business being a police officer.
    ( Officer Tip: The entire non-law enforcement population is NOT your God Damned enemy. Quit treating us like we are unless you truly want us to go down that path. . . . )

    Had the guy been dressed like a ninja, cartwheeled out of the truck cab, tossed a few smoke bombs and filled the air with throwing stars, and amazing acrobatics, then fine. Shoot him.

    Elderly gentleman who can barely move without a cane ? Really ? Holy shit, imagine if he had pulled something REALLY EVIL from the truck. . . . like a ( that can't be a walker, it must be a QUAD ROCKET LAUNCHER ) what then ? Going to call in a swat team ? Sick the canine on him ? Call in air support ? :|

    Thought: If YOU or I had done this we would be rotting in jail for eternity. Regardless of what you THOUGHT it looked like, the fact of the matter is: YOU WERE WRONG and someone was seriously injured because of your piss poor observation skills. Go ahead, try it out. Randomly walk down the street and open fire on anyone carrying anything that you might perceive to be a gun and watch what happens.

    At the very least the officer should be fired and his peace officer certificate revoked. At the very LEAST.

  19. Re:Broken camera by Comrade+Ogilvy · · Score: 2

    They are following the will of the elected officials of NYC and the senior police leadership. That may not make 4th Amendment advocates very happy, but the police are not trying to "get away" with anything that they are not proud enough to do in broad daylight in front of numerous witnesses every day.

  20. Re:Broken camera by Frobnicator · · Score: 4, Informative

    But the footage can be lost and blamed on an "off" camera.

    That is exactly what the ACLU objected to.

    The proposed bill mandated that police carried them, but left optional what is recorded, did not require access by citizens, and did not specify a data retention policy. The ACLU objection (see the actual story) cited cases where police turned off the cameras during the (alleged) abuses, sometimes multiple cops turning off each others cameras, and where judges ruled in favor of the cops when the evidence was missing. Data could also be deleted the same day for no reason other than a personal judgement call.

    The bill was a good start, but needs mandatory recording requirements, mandatory citizen access, and mandatory data retention policies.

    --
    //TODO: Think of witty sig statement
  21. Re:Broken camera by ColdSam · · Score: 2

    Officers get shot at "fairly often"? Considering the millions of traffic stops it is a very small percentage, perhaps shooting first is not the best option in all cases.

    If you think that old guy was moving "quite easily" you are certainly not anyone I would like to see carrying a gun. He had a difficult time just opening the door. At best, you might think he was really drunk, but that is also not a reason to shoot someone.

    If you're unsure, then get back in the car, or maybe hide behind the door. This officer made a tragic mistake that was fortunately not fatal. In his defense the mistake was mostly not because he was a poor human being, just an average human being who was trained improperly (i.e. trained to shoot first).

  22. Re:Broken camera by strstr · · Score: 2

    It can be perfect, but its a conspiracy amongst their ranks to control the public and prevent prosecution for previous misdeeds.

    This guy with a PhD who worked for Bush under the White House wrote this white paper on how the police are literally psychopaths, and are more dangerous than the public: http://www.boilingfrogspost.co...

    The way to perfection is mind reading technology to valid emotions, thoughts, memories, and impulses, to perfectly prosecute and convict all current government criminals and prevent them from ever regaining power. The Department of Defense, NSA, CIA, and FBI already possess this technology but its being used for psychic warfare and serious spy games abuses. Dr. Robert Duncan says its deployed nationally in all radar and satellites today, and he helped design it during his time with the DOD/CIA/US DOJ. Read his books and look up the technology patents and listen to his whistleblower audio clips about it: http://www.oregonstatehospital...

    Perfect conviction is also possible of criminals, and knowing exactly what happened to lead up to finding crime, committing crime, altercations during police encounters, and more. We wouldn't need juries anymore either because a computer can determine guilt and proper "rehabilitation" for all citizens without bias. No flaws, no false convictions, no long trials or need for appeals as the current system work. Releases could be based on the persons actual risk based on their brain waves and thoughts, risks, plans, rather than the typical arbitrary shit and personal opinions of the public today.

    Dr. Robert Duncan's book The Matrix Deciphered mentions the literal conspiracy to hide this technology, because it could be used to convict our corporate and Presidential and military overlords, who have lied and conspired and covered up every crime they ever committed, including with this mind reading/altering weapon. Read Duncan's books here: http://www.oregonstatehospital.... html#drrobertduncan

    Can't hide a current or past thought/action from TAMI/Thought Amplifier and Mind Interface, or its EEG hederodyning / EEG memory probing feature.

  23. Re:Broken camera by Frobnicator · · Score: 2

    a start doesn't need those things, because it's a start.

    Sometimes in businesses or other small policies it is good to implement something incomplete rather than nothing at all.

    Law is not one of those cases. An incomplete law can be very detrimental to society and difficult to get changed. When the choice is between a bad/incomplete law or no law at all, prefer having no law.

    --
    //TODO: Think of witty sig statement
  24. Re:Broken camera by Wycliffe · · Score: 2

    But the footage can be lost and blamed on an "off" camera.

    If I was on a jury and it came down to a "he said/she said debate" then I would probably be more likely to side with the cop.
    On the other hand, if I was on a jury and the cop had a head mounted camera which was off, malfunctioning, or had missing
    footage then I would immediately favor the other person as I assume most people would. As a cop it would be in your
    best interest to leave it on as any attempt to turn it off would look like an attempt to cover up evidence.