Free Republic

Researchers in California will leverage artificial intelligence to study bodycam footage recorded by Los Angeles police to analyze whether officers escalated interactions with the public through their language or tone. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) on Tuesday announced the research initiative during the Board of Police Commissioners meeting. LAPD Cmdr. Marla Ciuffetelli said at the meeting the study will be used to help train future officers on how to best interact with the public while also promoting accountability, according to the Los Angeles Times. “The Los Angeles Police Department is committed to leadership, quality through continuous improvement and public...

A recent report alleges that Apple is making certain employees wear police-grade body cameras in response to recent product leaks. Front Page Tech reports that Apple is making some of its employees wear “police-grade” body cameras similar to the most popular model used by law enforcement, the Axon Body 2. In a response to regular leaks of the latest Apple products and updates, the company has taken this new step to ensure that trade secrets stay out of the hands of leakers.

There, unarmed and still wearing the cape, Babbitt started to climb through a broken window and was shot dead by a plainclothes Capitol Police lieutenant. Terrell Roberts: She's not brandishing a weapon, so he's shooting an unarmed individual who is not assaulting him or threatening him. Attorney Terry Roberts represents Babbitt’s husband, Aaron. Sharyl: A prevailing sentiment that I've read is, these were insurrectionists who were going to threaten people's lives and they deserved, or she deserved what she got. Terrell Roberts: So for someone to say, "Well, she got what she deserved." without understanding what the law is, is...

The New York Police Department is removing nearly 3,000 body cameras from use after one of the devices worn by a Staten Island officer exploded into flames, police officials said on Sunday. The recall of the Vievu-brand LE-5 cameras could delay the department’s plan to outfit all 23,000 patrol officers with body cameras by December, and adds another twist to the complicated history surrounding the mechanisms... The police said other camera models, including the LE-4, are not affected by the order.

A small number of police departments are showing interest in a new type of video camera that can be mounted directly on officers’ guns, saying it may offer a better view of officer-involved shootings than body cameras. Some law enforcement officials and civil rights groups are skeptical. Among the cons, they point out, is that gun cameras start recording only after weapons are removed from holsters and won’t capture what led to officers drawing their guns, or other interactions with the public. They also say they should be used only as a complement to body cameras. Besides the better view,...

But privately, the department is telling some of its agents they cannot work with officers using such cameras as part of joint task forces, according to people familiar with the discussions. “We are well past the date where it’s acceptable for major law-enforcement entities to not have a policy,” Mr. Marlow said. A Justice Department spokesman said the agency “is looking into this issue and has been consulting with the law enforcement components” within the department. Nearly a year ago, in response to the Ferguson crisis, President Barack Obama announced a multiyear, $75 million effort to fund body cameras for...

The perpetual siren call of victimhood. Oh, how alluring, how comforting, how most pleasing is the mantle of victimhood. So pleasing, in fact, that even when the claim to victim status is tenuous at best, some people cannot restrain themselves from rushing before the news cameras to inform the world of how they have been mistreated. Pátio ergo sum. I suffer, therefore I am. Witness the case of Keith Jones, a firefighter in Oakland, Calif., who recently had a brief but mildly tense encounter with an officer from that city’s police department. Jones, 43, was leaving an Oakland Raiders football...