Put a camera on a pig and the pig still dirty......
http://atlantablackstar.com/2015/01...-cameras-learning-black-community-knew-along/
Police body cameras were one of the most popular solutions to police brutality that surfaced in the wake of the killings of unarmed Black men, but police departments that have already implemented the cameras are finding out what the Black community knew all along: Body cameras are not a panacea.
Though they have received considerable hype, police body cameras are not the end-all, be-all solution to improving policing and preventing racial profiling.
It’s what the Black community learned the hard way after a grand jury failed to indict New York officer Daniel Pantaleo after he put Staten Island father Eric Garner in a fatal chokehold. Despite the entire incident being caught on tape, including Garner telling officers 11 times that he couldn’t breathe, a grand jury decided the officers didn’t use any excessive force against Garner.
Even police dashboard cameras have been at the center of controversy and prove the difference between what an officer sees and what a citizen sees when reviewing the footage.
Last fall, a South Carolina man was pulled over by police and asked to get his license after he stepped out of the car. When the man reached back into his car to get his license, the officer ordered him to get out of the car and began firing within a matter of seconds.
For the Black community, it was another clear sign that officers are too willing to fire away at unarmed Black men for no reason.
For officers, the man’s sudden movement seemed unnatural and warranted defensive action by the officer.
“I felt my stomach tense because I’ve seen that — and this has nothing to do with whether the incident was justified or not — but, I’ve seen that kind of quick movement before, where people have emerged with a weapon,” San Francisco police Sgt. Adam Plantinga said of the controversial footage to NPR.
Plantinga explained that officers look out for certain types of behavior that could indicate a suspect is prone to becoming violent but that’s not something the average person is going to consider when watching the footage from body cameras or police dashboards.
“They may wipe their hands on their pants, they may lower their head [or] lower their jaw to protect their neckline, sort of unconscious human behavior that means that there could be violence at any time,” he explained.
In the midst of all this, Plantinga said he is actually in support of police body cameras but thinks people will need to keep in mind that even body cameras won’t always provide the entire story.
http://atlantablackstar.com/2015/01...-cameras-learning-black-community-knew-along/
Police body cameras were one of the most popular solutions to police brutality that surfaced in the wake of the killings of unarmed Black men, but police departments that have already implemented the cameras are finding out what the Black community knew all along: Body cameras are not a panacea.
Though they have received considerable hype, police body cameras are not the end-all, be-all solution to improving policing and preventing racial profiling.
It’s what the Black community learned the hard way after a grand jury failed to indict New York officer Daniel Pantaleo after he put Staten Island father Eric Garner in a fatal chokehold. Despite the entire incident being caught on tape, including Garner telling officers 11 times that he couldn’t breathe, a grand jury decided the officers didn’t use any excessive force against Garner.
Even police dashboard cameras have been at the center of controversy and prove the difference between what an officer sees and what a citizen sees when reviewing the footage.
Last fall, a South Carolina man was pulled over by police and asked to get his license after he stepped out of the car. When the man reached back into his car to get his license, the officer ordered him to get out of the car and began firing within a matter of seconds.
For the Black community, it was another clear sign that officers are too willing to fire away at unarmed Black men for no reason.
For officers, the man’s sudden movement seemed unnatural and warranted defensive action by the officer.
“I felt my stomach tense because I’ve seen that — and this has nothing to do with whether the incident was justified or not — but, I’ve seen that kind of quick movement before, where people have emerged with a weapon,” San Francisco police Sgt. Adam Plantinga said of the controversial footage to NPR.
Plantinga explained that officers look out for certain types of behavior that could indicate a suspect is prone to becoming violent but that’s not something the average person is going to consider when watching the footage from body cameras or police dashboards.
“They may wipe their hands on their pants, they may lower their head [or] lower their jaw to protect their neckline, sort of unconscious human behavior that means that there could be violence at any time,” he explained.
In the midst of all this, Plantinga said he is actually in support of police body cameras but thinks people will need to keep in mind that even body cameras won’t always provide the entire story.
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