Innocent until Proven Guilty - Police Body Cameras

All police officers should wear body cameras because it helps to protect the public, it helps with the police officer’s safety, the back and forth accusing of racial profiling, and also the neighborhood safety.

Body cameras can serve as a reliable eyewitness. Without the body cameras, it would be the victim’s word against the police officers. According to The Daily Beast, “These are the Victims of the Dallas Police Massacre” “Brent Thompson was an officer who died during the Dallas Police Massacre. Before joining the Department in 2009, Thompson trained police in Iraq and Afghanistan while working for a private military contractor.” it also states how great of a police officer Thompson was and”In May, Thompson shared a meme that she read, when I die my friends better do this at my funeral” written on top of a scene from the show Eastbound & Down” if worn cameras during “the deadliest day for U.S law enforcement since 9/11” maybe the world would know who killed the wonderful officer Thompson.

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The use of body cameras can protect police officers from being falsely accused of unnecessary actions or brutality against suspected criminals. According to “Considering Police body cameras,” “Marcus Jeter was arrested by New Jersey Police officers during the summer of 2012 and subsequently, charged with “eluding the police, resisting arrest, and aggravated assault on a police officer.” Parts of this encounter, were caught on tape by the dashboard camera in the officer’s cruiser. Jeter maintains from the beginning that the officers has used excessive force while arresting him and that he had not acted violently.” The Bloomfield Police Department conducted an internal investigation and found the officers did nothing wrong. Jeter’s arrest, his attorney uncovered evidence that a second police cruiser had been on the scene that night.” This shows how police officers are also getting the protection they deserve while using body cameras, without this evidence from the video cameras it would of been the officer’s word against Jeter’s. Police officers are more likely to be protected from criminals trying to attack them because evidence is available to contact them.

The number of deaths from last year has been outrageous. Many people are concerned about not only the safety of citizens but also the use of guns. Some people feel as if the deaths of most citizens has been because of the use of racial profiling. Veronica Majerol from New York Times Upfront states in the case of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager. “Some witnesses confirmed Officer Darren Wilson’s account that he’d shot Michael Brown in self-defense. Others said Brown didn’t pose a threat and that the shooting amounted to murder. A jury decided not to charge Wilson with a crime, but what really happened that night? If the encounter had been captured on video, some would have argued we’d know” After Wilson’s innocence and the death of Brown thousands of people looked at this case as the use of racial profiling killing innocent people because of the color of their skin. As stated above people would know more about the case of Browns and he’s death if use of body cameras were worn during this incident.

Furthermore, body cameras is also a great way to create safer communities. David French response to Trayvon Martin case “An armed neighborhood-watch volunteer, George Zimmerman, shot and killed an unarmed teen, Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman claimed Martin had attacked him without any justifiable provocation.” With that being said if Zimmerman was wearing a body cameras during his claim attack by the teenage boy February 26, 2016 this would of shown rather or not Martin did actually attack him.

So many thing is going in the world today rather its public safety, the officers safety, the racial profiling, or even neighborhood safety. Cops will be more protected if wearing a video camera, just like the police ovth says “you are innocent until proven guilty” and the video cameras shows just that, and also more of a suspect and a victim.

References

“13-Year-Old With a BB Gun Is Shot and Killed by Police in Columbus, Ohio.” Daily Intelligencer, 15 Sept. 2016. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=j020902&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA463581242&it=r&asid=cda072b43290f61613c17c1b2ebfa48b. Accessed 9 Feb. 2017.

“Body of evidence grows, but questions remain about police body cameras.” American City & County, 28 Sept. 2016. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=j020902&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA465071065&it=r&asid=950657093dd447a10f9907a85c057467. Accessed 9 Feb. 2017.

“Considering police body cameras.” Harvard Law Review, Apr. 2015, p. 1794+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=j020902&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA412800618&it=r&asid=5a50cce41c3ebfd18f649a9ba6938064. Accessed 9 Feb. 2017.

Majerol, Veronica. “Should police wear body cameras? While video can tell us a lot about encounters between the police and the public, body cams also raise concerns about privacy.” New York Times Upfront, 7 Sept. 2015, p. 6+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=j020902&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA436695119&it=r&asid=524ebcba9260ccc1380ec5d4a7ecd396. Accessed 9 Feb. 2017.