Re: “About 5 Months Until Body Cams Arrive”
Speculating on how the arrival of body cameras early next year will impact Police Dept., policies, Chief Scott Bixby said that there is an imposing number of unknowables.
It may look as uncomplicated as 4 plus 4 equals 8, but potentially it is considerably cloudier.
If there is a controversial shooting, all of the early public information suggests cop carelessness and police have a video that shows a quite different scenario, should the video be released – and fast?
Here is the thorny part:
“If we release the video,” Mr. Bixby said, “does that put us in a position where now we have to release any and all videos when a video might compromise the case?
“Those are the kinds of things that police chiefs in the county are trying to work out.”
Although advocates insist that body cams will be a panacea for the rash of police-suspect shootings that have gone viral since Michael Brown was killed two years ago in Ferguson.
“I am sure there will be some people who are going to want things immediately,” Mr. Bixby. “Others will understand, I hope, that some of these things, for investigatory reasons, can’t be released right away.
“There also could be privacy issues,” the third-year chief said. “Say we are in somebody’s home, and we capture children on video or scantily clad persons.”
Mr. Bixby said that “there is no way to have a hard-and-fast policy that ‘this will be released at this time’ and ‘this won’t ever.’ We (chiefs in the county) are trying to work out those things.”
An intriguing but not binding question is the effect of body cams on, say, the Police Dept. of Culver City.
Will the department be “much better off” with the body cams, “better off” or “little better off?”
“I believe the body cams will be to our advantage,” Mr. Bixby replied with clarity. “And I would choose the middle option – saying that we are better off.
“I really believe our people do the right thing the vast majority of the time. Mistakes happen, and when that occurs we will deal with it.
“I believe body cams will be just another tool, make things more transparent.”
The police chief said that the introduction of dash cams last year “has prevented frivolous complaints. When people, some people, realize they are on video, they drop a complaint because they know it is without merit.”
