The other day President Obama announced an ambitious plan to purchase 50,000 body cameras for police use. The idea is far from a new one. It has been implemented in several communities for many years. The president’s comments were motivated ostensibly by the Ferguson crisis, in which a police officer was not indicted for the shooting of an unarmed black man, Michael Brown. To many this incident is but one in a long series of disproportionate aggressive actions taken by police against black men. The failure to indict Officer Darren Wilson reminds many of the refusal to convict officers for seemingly any offense, such as the brutal beating of Rodney King for which no one was convicted. The president’s plan appears to take the middle ground. The plan should it be implemented, attempts to curb further police violence by placing body cameras on 50,000 police officers. The idea has been a controversial one. However, the benefits far outweigh the risks. Similar cameras have been placed on police officers to great success. Rialto California, a town of 100,000, placed body cameras on many of its police officers. After the cameras were in placed, the town found that the officers wearing cameras used force 60% less frequently than those without cameras. Additionally, complaints were filed against the officers wearing cameras 88% less frequently than those without. What results when officer wear cameras is a safer environment for citizens and an easier job for police officers. The lack of complaints makes police operations more efficient and the presence of an official video record provides clarity when officer procedure is called into question. At times such as this we would do well to remember that the Civil Rights Movement is far from over. Though there is a contentious history of police brutality against a range of individuals, a large portion of those individuals happen to be black men. This is an unfortunate consequence of racial segregation that black men are often seen as hostile figures, especially by law enforcement, even when they have done nothing to provoke such hostility. Perhaps this can been seen as a direct consequence of the vitriolic rhetoric characterizing black men as rapacious animals that need to be restrained. Damage caused by racial segregation will take decades to heal if not longer. However, the least that society can do is attempt to mitigate the damage done to victims of an unjust stereotype. Placing body cameras on police officers would provide a subtle but effective check on police aggression, which would help ensure the safety of the public, especially black men. At the very least, such cameras would provide the public with clarity should another contentious confrontation with a police officer arise.
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When the talk of body cameras emerged following the murder of Michael Brown, I thought that this was going to be a way in which it would be absolutely clear how an act of police violence occurred or even prevent future ones from occurring. However, the murder of Eric Garner has left me feeling pessimistic about the actual accountability that the body cameras would foster. The people of Ferguson tend to believe that the use of a body camera during the altercation that led to the murder of Michael Brown, would have led to the quick conviction of Darren Wilson. There is video proof of Eric Garner's murder, although not through the use of a police body camera, and the officer involved was still not convicted. I just don't have very high hopes at the moment for their use toward justice or the prevention of these acts in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kirby Rogers. There was video of the excessive force used on Eric Garner, but his attacker went legally unpunished. I'm not sure if body cameras on officers will create a short-term solution in the courts. However, police officers may be more conscious of their actions in the future. And if police brutality continues to plague the black community, it will be better documented for society as a whole to acknowledge and be forced to resolve.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Kirby and Jasmine. I think the body cameras could make the officer think a little less aggressively and second guess having to use fatal force. I know in many cases this will not help in both the court and in the officers decision making process, but as Jasmine said at least these will be documented so they will have to be reckoned with.
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