Will Body Cameras Solve the Ferguson Problem?
The answer is no. The reason I say that is because there will not always be a clear camera angle of whatever is happening.
In this case, with the physical confrontation which happened, the camera would have been bouncing around. So the camera image would not have been clear. Also, assuming the camera is on the front of a policeman’s shirt, or lapel, pointing outward, the struggle for the gun which happened between Brown and Wilson would not have been shown on camera at all.
Unless the camera is at the best angle to record an entire encounter between cops and suspects, there will always be room for complaints that the camera didn’t show the entire incident, or complaints that the camera angles give a misleading view of what happened.
And if camera views of an incident are unclear or inconclusive or an entire incident is not recorded, then Sharpton and his ilk will still bitch about racism anyway.
Well that remains to be seen
If Wilson had a body camera, it might well have been disabled during the fight in the vehicle.
As mentioned, it likely wouldn’t have shown the crucial parts of the fight.
Some in-vehicle cameras would have been useful.
And even if the views are clear and conclusive, Sharpton and his ilk will claim the footage was “tampered with.”
The answer is no. The reason I say that is because there will not always be a clear camera angle of whatever is happening.
In this case, with the physical confrontation which happened, the camera would have been bouncing around. So the camera image would not have been clear. Also, assuming the camera is on the front of a policeman’s shirt, or lapel, pointing outward, the struggle for the gun which happened between Brown and Wilson would not have been shown on camera at all.
Unless the camera is at the best angle to record an entire encounter between cops and suspects, there will always be room for complaints that the camera didn’t show the entire incident, or complaints that the camera angles give a misleading view of what happened.
And if camera views of an incident are unclear or inconclusive or an entire incident is not recorded, then Sharpton and his ilk will still bitch about racism anyway.
Good summary.
To me this is as much about giving lawyers another piece of evidence to nit pick through, take snippets of, and convict in the court of public opinion, before having to face the reality that in many cases the police are protecting the rest of the population from thugs.....
Google Glass?