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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
Traffic stops once again prove to be one of the most dangerous situations law enforcement officers find themselves in.
It’s surprisingly easy considering the dynamics of a traffic stop. Obviously this officer exercised proper caution.
Edited by archonspeaks on Feb 21st 2019 at 11:17:47 AM
They should have sent a poet.@ironballs16: Probably not many. A youtube channel I frequented for a while (made by a cop) did a video on the topic that was half-criticizing the idea, though not on the basis that body cams are bad (he points out that the vast majority of the time, body cams prove the officer's innocence)-just that putting cameras on every police officer isn't particularly feasible.
Leviticus 19:34Yeah, I think always-on body cams are probably unnecessary and a waste of resources in general. I do think the officer should have a camera they turn on whenever they do a traffic stop or whatever.
I don't think you need to motivate the officer much anyways, since it's in their interests to have something to show to the courts.
Leviticus 19:34... y’all are far more trusting than I am. There’s been plenty of reports of cops turning off bodycams or fighting against them being implemented. And even with body cam footage, jail time for cops who kill is incredibly rare. Body cams aren’t a magic bullet that will solve systemic racism and violence in policing.
They already are child abusers - I just wish that was legally recognised. If you think exposing your children to the risk of contracting, say, polio is in any way acceptable, you're already willfully playing with their lives and shouldn't have custody of them in the first place.
We learn from history that we do not learn from historyNobody is saying they are. But they are an important tool for ensuring accountability in law enforcement. Far better to have them than not. And if a cop has their bodycam off and an incident occurs, that's a huge mark against their credibility in whatever defense is offered. Having legislation that punishes not having bodycams on when they should would help as well.
Body cams are theoretically great at knowing when police suck (if they don't f*cking turn them off), but they're also great for knowing when police did their jobs properly.
Deputy Jarecki shot and killed a man at a traffic stop. The body cam footage clearly shows him drawing a gun and firing a shot at her before she returned fire. No further investigation is necessary. It is unlikely a controversy will arise from this. The end.
Like. Isn't it great that we don't have to ask any questions whatsoever about this case? Good on bodycams.
Edited by TobiasDrake on Feb 21st 2019 at 1:22:29 PM
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
You know what would be great? Mandatory bodycams with a placebo off-switch. It doesn't actually turn the cam off. The cop just thinks it does.
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.I’m not asking for perfect; they’re not even good.
@Wisewillow: It is true that it's rare for cops to face jail time even with body cams. In fact, I think the data shows that body cam footage generally lowers the odds of a police officer's odds of being punished. However, this is far more of a feature than a bug-part of the purpose of such devices is to protect the officer.
Leviticus 19:34Changing how people act would not seem to be the point of having constant footage, except as an indirect over-time effect if that footage is used properly.
The entire common law concept of negligence does not admit ignorance as a defence. "I didn't know I should do that" means that you didn't put enough effort into learning what you need to know.
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Ah, yes. Poor cops, so unfairly maligned for killing unarmed people, framing people, sexually assaulting people... Body cams are necessary to protect them from such slander.
Body cams are typically sold as a police accountability and anti-police brutality measure. They are essentially useless for that purpose.
In this case, that may have been precisely what happened. Without that footage to show that the officer responded only after being shot at first, what would you make of the odds of there being a controversy over whether Han Shot First in that instance? Or that the gun was planted after-the-fact to justify it?
Also, we have gotten some high-profile cases tossed out, e.g. the Baltimore cop whose cam recorded him planting heroin in a soup can
.
And it may have taken a long fucking while, but he did get his comeuppance with a conviction this past November
.
Edited by ironballs16 on Feb 21st 2019 at 3:47:35 PM
"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"They seem useless because of the culture within precincts of protecting their own and superiors not dealing out appropriate punishments. The body cams are supposed to be proof of negligence or wrongdoing that would then be followed up by punitive action from the officer's superiors. Problem is that cops don't do that. So deal with the culture, then body cams will be properly effective.

And thus Darwin earns the last laugh again.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"