Last week, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton threw her support behind a growing movement to put body cameras on police officers “to help protect good people on both sides of the lens.”
She might have just won my vote.
One of the major reasons that people, myself included, fear police interactions is the fact that, should we wind up in court, the judge, the jury and even the public will be faced with the dilemma of the officer’s word against mine.
One of the major concerns police have is that any situation could escalate to the point of violence. It’s also risky for them to put their word against mine because there’s no telling which way the jury will swing.
But body cameras reduce the risk of all of this, while providing video evidence of any incident. An experiment conducted by the Rialto Police Department in California confirmed this hypothesis. When body cameras were introduced, complaints against officers dropped 88 percent and officers’ use of force fell by 60 percent.
Everybody wins.
Some members of law enforcement might complain about being monitored throughout their shift. On the surface, it’s a reasonable complaint. I certainly don’t want video evidence of my whole day. I’d feel very uncomfortable if a camera was placed in the newsroom to watch me type.
But nobody’s given me the responsibility to protect and serve…or given me the power to wreck or end a life when situations escalate too quickly.
Last year, the Denver Chief of Police said: “The only officers who would have a problem with body cameras are bad officers.”
He’s right. We give law enforcement power over us. They can detain us, arrest us, interrogate us, lock us up for a night and gather evidence to lock us up for years. It’s a necessary element in any civilized society. But it’s not just another job.
Law enforcers have a higher calling, like any public servant. Just as we keep an extra close eye on the courts that decide our fates and the lawmakers that decide our future, so must we carefully watch those individuals entrusted with keeping us safe—and occasionally using force to keep us safe.
Politicians know by now that every little thing they do will be deconstructed by a watchful public, people who don’t want to experience this scrutiny stay out of politics. The same mentality should decide who joins law enforcement agencies. It’s an important job that involves the public surrendering certain rights and extending a certain level of trust. If you can’t face the scrutiny of being filmed as you work, don’t go into a field where everything has to be done exactly properly.
If you can’t deal with a body camera, don’t be a cop, because when it’s my turn to face trial and I’m staring at nine randomly selected faces who get to decide whether I go home or lose the next ten years of my life, I want every ounce of evidence available present in that courtroom.
