This video makes a strong case FOR mandatory dash-&-body cams...

[Statistikhengst]

...for cops.

Before you watch the video, which is incontrovertible, I should tell you that I called a cousin of mine, who is a cop, and a damned good one at that. He was FURIOUS when he saw the video, told me he hopes that the two cops get "drawn and quartered" for what they did, which was clearly illegal. But he also said that mandatory dash-and-body cams for all cops is a good idea, because it also protects good cops who do their jobs correctly from false allegations.



The point is: raw video doesn't lie.

There was a case a number of months back where a young cop stopped a black firefighter who was inside a fire-engine garage, with his two kids. It ended up that the firefighter had noticed that the door was open when it should not have been and had gone in to check out what was wrong. He was out with his boys that evening, I think, for a stroll. The cop did his job well, got the guy's id, and within 4 minutes, the whole thing was cleared up. The firefighter even thanked the cop.

Then, the firefighter went to the press and LIED that the cop's stopping him was racially motivated. The firefighter did not know that the cop was carrying a body-cam. The body-cam told the whole story and that raw video was also incontrovertible. I lambasted that black firefigher really hard for having blatantly lied. That young cop, who is white, did his job, and he did it correctly. I bet he is thankful that he had a cam to record his words and deed.

So, for me, it's not about race. It's about removing ambiguity.

And I bet that most criminal labs that are parts of police forces throughout the nation would love to see mandatory body and dashcams, because they would have more evidential material to see.

Take the poll and give your comments, if you wish. But this is a very, very current event. Stuff like this is happening all over the nation.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Yes.

While it can get expensive, vindication of officers accused of wrong-doing or even murder would justify the cost with just one incident.

"The Chicago Sun-Times reported earlier this year that the city has payed out nearly half a billion dollars in settlements over the past decade, and spent $84.6 million in fees, settlements, and awards last year."
U.S. cities pay out millions to settle police lawsuits - The Washington Post

$80 million/year vs perhaps only $1 million to equip every officer with a body cam.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Yes.

While it can get expensive, vindication of officers accused of wrong-doing or even murder would justify the cost with just one incident.

"The Chicago Sun-Times reported earlier this year that the city has payed out nearly half a billion dollars in settlements over the past decade, and spent $84.6 million in fees, settlements, and awards last year."
U.S. cities pay out millions to settle police lawsuits - The Washington Post

$80 million/year vs perhaps only $1 million to equip every officer with a body cam.

Not to mention the enormous cost of all the military equipment police forces are buying.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Yes.

While it can get expensive, vindication of officers accused of wrong-doing or even murder would justify the cost with just one incident.

"The Chicago Sun-Times reported earlier this year that the city has payed out nearly half a billion dollars in settlements over the past decade, and spent $84.6 million in fees, settlements, and awards last year."
U.S. cities pay out millions to settle police lawsuits - The Washington Post

$80 million/year vs perhaps only $1 million to equip every officer with a body cam.

Not to mention the enormous cost of all the military equipment police forces are buying.

Most of that is for the pointless war on drugs. Sooner we acknowledge that was a fool's errand and end it, legalize everything, sooner we can get police forces more like Mayberry and Barney Fife than Rambo and the Terminator.