Police Shooting Shows That Body Camera Video Without Context Is Useless

By Bob Owens

The Los Angeles Times Editorial Board (full disclosure: I contribute op-eds to the Times on occasion) is asking most of the right questions about the use of police body cameras, and how footage from those cameras should be released to the public.

Now that the Los Angeles Police Department — and law enforcement agencies across the state and country — are requiring officers to wear video cameras appended to their uniforms when they’re on duty, officials are grappling with whether, how and when the footage should be made public.

Should all body camera video be posted online, as the Seattle police department does? Should it be released only in cases of officer-involved shootings or high-profile use-of-force cases? Should release be delayed for two months, as one state legislator suggests? Should police chiefs decide when to release it or should independent commissions be created to make the call? Should the state set rules, or should each law enforcement agency come up with its own policy?

These are difficult questions, and in answering them, officials must balance the needs of law enforcement, the right to privacy, the desire for accountability and the public’s right to know.

We post a considerable amount of video of …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms