Dashcam Tampering

[patric]

An officer questions a man about the holster he is wearing. As the man produces his gun license, a female cop charges toward him. He reacts, tries to regain his balance and in the end, they shoot him.



Body cameras from several officers record the event, but without audio because none of the officers followed policy to activate their cameras.  The department excuses the lapses with "if circumstances prevent activating the BWC at the beginning of an incident" but from the video released sofar it doesnt appear that any of the officers were "prevented" from pushing the button on their lapel cameras as they are required to do.

Though police officials inserted a freeze-frame into the video snippet released Sunday to ensure that everyone watching could see the dark-colored pistol holstered on Augustus' right hip, they made no such clarifying enhancement to the moment when the card is partially visible protruding from his wallet.
https://thinkprogress.org/chicago-police-body-camera-videos-harith-augustus-killing-bf4660b12f2c/

How much editing should be allowed when releasing "raw" video?  Redacting faces is one thing, but these videos are manipulated to emphasize specific talking points, not to protect the identity of the innocent.

Policy calls for camera activation at the moment of contact with a citizen, but none of the officers did that, or just the officers whose video hasnt been made public?

The Body Worn Camera policy needs improvement if it can be routinely interpreted in a way that defeats the purpose of having cameras in the first place.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-met-fatal-police-shooting-videos-augustus-20180717-story.html

[patric]

If you are going to cherry-pick 14 clips from a dashcam video you might as well just release the whole video.
https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/family-of-man-injured-in-altercation-with-police-say-officers-used-excessive-force/

"He's probably still gonna try to sue us just because he's an asshat and he's got money."
https://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/he-s-probably-still-gonna-try-to-sue-us-tulsa/article_eb744650-b42f-54e7-b3d6-ae54459675d8.html

He did.
https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/courts/man-accused-of-assaulting-tulsa-police-officers-in-sues-city/article_619e2ea4-a5c5-5a51-be1d-43b3666763e1.html

[patric]

Hours of video suddenly appeared without warning on the Tulsa Police Department's media portal, a forum the department uses to notify the media of police reports and body camera or dashboard camera footage being released.

Much of the video released late Tuesday by Tulsa Police was completely blurred and muted, making it unclear who was in the video and what they were saying.

https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/police-videos-show-confusion-in-wake-of-alleged-stabbing-of-tulsa-district-court-judge/
https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/tpd-union-using-incident-involving-judge-to-smear-councilor-s/article_52221d8c-3889-507d-953a-8db091d2a037.html

[patric]

Officials have said O'Neill's body camera was not running when he approached Logan because the cameras automatically record only if an officer exits his vehicle while the red and blue overhead lights are activated. The officials said O'Neill also did not manually activate the camera because at first he intended only to check Logan's identity.

BodyWorn, the brand that supplied the South Bend Police Department's cameras advertises both gunshot detection and holster that activates the body camera when an officer draws a gun. When the cameras detect gunshots, they also retroactively record the prior two minutes.

https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/police-shooting-exposes-limits-of-south-bend-s-body-camera/article_bc7566e3-115e-5be1-a81f-512d9d7de0d3.html

[patric]

Long overdue.


Tulsa lawmaker's bill could make it a crime if law enforcement officers misuse body cameras

A Tulsa lawmaker has proposed legislation that would subject Oklahoma law enforcement officers to potential criminal charges for improperly using body-worn cameras.

State Rep. Regina Goodwin, D-Tulsa, filed a measure that would mandate every law enforcement agency that supplies the devices "require the use of said body-worn equipment at all times while interacting with the public," according to House Bill 3515.

The bill would make it unlawful for law enforcement to modify or alter recordings or use devices in a manner to obstruct justice. If passed, the law would go into effect Nov. 1.

"... No officer employed by a law enforcement agency in this state shall edit, redact, erase, copy, share or otherwise alter or distribute in any manner any recording made by the body-worn recording equipment or the data from such recording," the bill states. "It shall be unlawful for a law enforcement officer with the intent to obstruct justice, to fail to turn on, to disable, to turn off or operate body-worn recording equipment in any manner that prevents the creation of evidence."

The bill says law enforcement found in violation could face misdemeanor charges.

Goodwin maintains her bill wasn't written as a means to indiscriminately punish law enforcement officers without justifiable cause. The measure, she says, was proposed with the intention of holding law enforcement agencies accountable for actions that would compromise public trust.

"We're talking about for the officers who are going to be obstructing justice or for the officers who feel it is OK to go out in the field without their body-cams," Goodwin said. "There should be consequences that are in actions and not just on paper."

The Tulsa Police Department, for example, states in its policy that officers equipped with cameras are expected to record all enforcement actions and "circumstances where a citizen expressly wishes to report misconduct."

Other than in the event of "an extreme, dynamic situation" where the devices cannot be triggered because of officer safety risks, all recordings shall begin "as soon as practical and reasonable," the policy states.

The police department's policy outlines that any tampering or obstruction with the intention of disabling recording devices is prohibited, and failure to use them as prescribed can result in disciplinary action.

Goodwin, though, said she hasn't been privy to any punishments levied against officers accused by citizens of circumventing body camera policies by withholding or significantly delaying access to recordings.

"It has already been proven that body cameras help both citizens and police," she said. "For all the folks who want to do right and be fair, we want our police officers and our public to be seen and shown in the truest light."

Police officials say an estimated 100 video recordings a month require review, and it can be a tedious, time-consuming process.

The operation involves a lengthy inspection and documentation of each video. It can often take one full day to completely review and process content of a single recording.

Tulsa Police Lt. Shane Tuell said officers' proper use of body cameras is considered a "top priority" within the department, because the devices are beneficial in protecting police and the public from misperceptions.

"We are not out to make people feel bad or look bad," Tuell said. "We want to do things that encourage law enforcement to use body cameras. We want to encourage more agencies to use them."
https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/tulsa-lawmaker-s-bill-could-make-it-a-crime-if/article_0bb928d9-2182-51b0-9201-98e021afe75e.html


UPDATE: 

House Bill 3515 failed on a 12–1 vote despite being amended to defer to departments' policies and training on body camera use.
"If an officer — with the intent to obstruct justice — turns off, disables, fails to turn on their camera, then the penalty for that — if convicted — would be a misdemeanor"
https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/post/state-lawmakers-representing-north-tulsa-get-mixed-results-bills-police-accountability

[heironymouspasparagus]

Long overdue.


Tulsa lawmaker's bill could make it a crime if law enforcement officers misuse body cameras

A Tulsa lawmaker has proposed legislation that would subject Oklahoma law enforcement officers to potential criminal charges for improperly using body-worn cameras.

State Rep. Regina Goodwin, D-Tulsa, filed a measure that would mandate every law enforcement agency that supplies the devices "require the use of said body-worn equipment at all times while interacting with the public," according to House Bill 3515.


https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/tulsa-lawmaker-s-bill-could-make-it-a-crime-if/article_0bb928d9-2182-51b0-9201-98e021afe75e.html

Nice Ideal.   But like so many of the ideals we claim to be based on, total fantasy in reality.   Much like that one particular line at the end of the Pledge of Allegiance - "with liberty and justice for all."

[whoatown]

Makes one wonder if Go-Pro has been dumping money into Dem campaign coffers.  What a windfall that would be, especially since the government seems to pay four or five times what civilians pay for a similar product which has very little functional difference.  

So if we quit paying government officials five times what they're worth, they'll pay the same price as everybody else?

Maybe they'll actually get some work done?