As a way of promoting ethics among law enforcement agencies, there have been calls for body cameras to be fitted in the uniforms worn by law enforcement authorities especially the police. Body cameras are small pager cameras that are clipped on the uniform of the officer or worn as a headset (Williams, 2004). These body cameras record both video and audio of the law enforcement officer’s interaction with members of the public. The calls for the fitting of body cameras on all law enforcement officers has been prompted by increased incidences of police violence and brutality. For instance, the year 2011 saw 404 people killed by the police with many of them being from the black community.
There are several situations where the need for body cameras has been exhibited and where the lack of them has brought liability on law enforcement agencies. One of these is the shooting of Michael Bell in Kenosha, Wisconsin. In the year 2003, Michael Bell was fatally shot by a Kenosha police officer after being unlawfully stopped for suspicion of drunk driving. The incident took place exactly one day before the deceased was to give testimony at a court hearing that centered on a previous incident involving the same officer. The incident was captured by the police car dashboard camera. The police claimed that Michael had put his hands on the officer’s gun but forensic, and video evidence revealed otherwise. For example, no fingerprints were found on the said gun.
Another high-profile incident of almost a similar nature is the one involving Dontre Hamilton in Milwaukee. Hamilton, a mentally sick African American man, was shot fatally by a white police officer, Christopher Manney in a downtown park. He was shot 14 times. Before the incident, a couple of law enforcement officers had found Hamilton in the park and had concluded that he was doing nothing wrong. Manney was not aware of this, and when he attempted to pat down Hamilton, the later turned on him and a confrontation ensued followed by a fight. Manney apparently attempted to subdue Hamilton using his baton, but he was overpowered by Hamilton, who grabbed the baton and swung at the officer striking him in the neck. It was then that the officer shot Hamilton several times. Manney was fired several months later for not following the department rules in the moments before the shooting. Manney was however not charged with the shooting of Hamilton after the District Attorney for the Milwaukee County ruled that use of force by Manney was justified.
Another incident of a similar nature is the shooting of Walter Scott. This incident took place in North Charleston, South Carolina and was captured on video. Scott was stopped by an officer because of a brake light that was not functioning. A dashcam video showed the officer approaching Scott’s vehicle before making his way back to his patrol car. Shortly after, Scott exited his car and started running away. The officer gave chase and fired his taser which hit Scot once. However, Scot continued running, and it was at this point that the officer drew his gun and fired a minimum of 8 rounds, five of which hit Scott. The officer claimed that he had shot Scott because he was fearful of his life after the latter had taken his taser. This however was contradicted by the video and eyewitness testimony. After thorough investigations, the officer, Slager was charged with murder and later, a grand jury indicted him on the same charge, and he is currently waiting the court trial.
There are several other incidences where body camera have captured video of a confrontation between police officers and members of the public. One incidence took place in Salt Lake City where Officer Bron Cruz shot dead Dillon Taylor. Cruz was not charged after body camera video suggested that the shooting was justified. The District Attorney for Salt Lake County determined that Officer Cruz had every reason to believe that the victim was armed and, therefore, dangerous. The body camera showed Crux approaching Taylor and asking him to get his hands out his pockets. Taylor refused to oblige at first and then seemingly started to raise his hands and his shirt as well after which the officer shot him dead. It was only later that the officer realized that Taylor was not armed.
Another police shooting that was captured on body camera and that helped to indict some police officers involved the shooting of James Boyd in Albuquerque, New Mexico on March 16, 2014. A video captured by a helmet cam video showed a homeless man being shot dead by police officers in the foothills of Albuquerque. The officers claimed that the man was illegally camping. In this video, the victim, known as Boyd seemingly turns away from the police before they shoot him dead. A spokeswoman from the Albuquerque police said that the man had threatened the officers with knives. The body camera video, however, helped to indict the officers who were both charged with open murder.
A body camera video also captured the shooting of Jason Harrison on June 14, 2014, in Dallas. Harrison, a mentally ill man, was shot dead by officers who had answered a call from his mother who wanted them to help out with her son. In the video, the officers arrive at the house of the victim where the door is answered by his mother. Harrison can be seen standing at the doorway holding a screwdriver which he is twirling with hands. The officers note the weapon and scream at him to drop it. The man appears to step away, and it is at this moment that shots are fired by two officers. Harrison stumbles forward covered in blood as his mother cries out. Perhaps an interesting aspect of this case is that the body camera video shows that one of the officers has a stun gun in his holster, but it was never at any time used to control the mentally challenged man.
The incidences discussed above together with many others taking place across the country have led to intensive calls for body camera to be an ever-present feature on all police uniforms. Although there has been some opposition to the idea, a majority of police departments across the nation have embraced the idea wholeheartedly. Some departments have gone ahead to start initiatives for this project.
One example of a police department that has taken steps towards the body cameras project is the one in Wakulla County. The sheriff’s office in this area has laid out plans to equip the majority of its officer or deputies with body cameras in the foreseeable future.
The Tallahassee police department also hopes to follow a similar part. In fact, this department has already requested for about 400 body cameras which it plans to issue to all its offices as. The estimated cost for this is about $360, 000.
In South Carolina, a bill recently signed into law by the state’s governor, Nikki Haley requires all the law enforcement agencies in the state to fit their officers with cameras. However, the recording in these devices will not be available to the public.
Other law enforcement agencies and police departments across the nation should follow suit, and the fitting of body cameras should be a major priority.
When a violent or fatal incidence involving law enforcement officer occur, it is not only the officers who are liable for their mistakes and failures, but the agencies to which they belong to also have some liabilities of both civil and criminal nature.
If for example, there is incriminating evidence against an officer accused of using excessive force, the parent agency is supposed to take action and if it fails to do so, then sanctions may be placed on this agency.
However, there are several types of immunity that may, for example, prevent an officer from being indicted for a crime. One of this is absolute immunity. This is a type of immunity that would be accorded to police officers from any lawsuits or criminal prosecutions if their actions are within the scope of their duties (Nakles, 1976).
Another type of immunity that may be accorded to police officers involved in altercations with members of the public is qualified immunity. In qualified immunity, one’s actions are closely examined and if they are not in violation of clearly established law, one is shielded from liability for violation of another person’s constitutional rights (Rudovsky, 1989).
Sovereign immunity which prevents the state or sovereignty from any criminal prosecution or civil suit is not applicable in this situation since the actions of a police officer cannot be pinned on the entire state or sovereignty (Chemerinsky, 2001).
It would be advisable that at all times, separate legal counsel is used for police employees so that they can understand the scope of their duties and realize when they are about to overstep their mandate and commit a prosecutable offence.
There is also a lot of initiatives that law enforcement agencies can take to prevent such many cases of police violence and killing as well as the excessive use of force. One of this is to develop adequate training programs for police officers (Vaughan et al., 2001). The police could be acting so violently because of lack of training on how to handle intense situations. This is an aspect where vast improvements are necessary.
In cases where police actions have brought about death or destruction of property, the relevance agencies should cater for all damages as a sign of goodwill. This can go a long way in easing tension and possibly pave the way for a calmer resolution process (Vaughan et al., 2001).
Therefore, best practices such as adequate training of police officers and encouraging officers to be responsible are likely to reduced incidences of police violence.
Law enforcement state licensing agencies should develop clear-cut procedures and rules for police certification. For example, a minimum level of training should be stated, and the content for such a training program should also be clearly articulated.
Although several agencies, as mentioned previously, have taken steps forward and adopted initiatives meant to curb police violence, no agency has been successful in fully addressing the problem. However, the body camera initiative is one that has great promise and if adopted by all agencies, cases of police violence are likely to reduce enormously.
There is little doubt that body camera is the way to go. By deploying or dispatching body cameras on all police uniforms, its shows that law enforcement agencies believe that law enforcement officers are there to serve the public and that their actions are a matter of public record (White, 2014). In a nutshell, therefore, deploying body cameras and improving police training programs can go a long in reducing police violence on members of the public.
References
Bayley, D. H. (2008). Police reform: Who done it? Policing & Society, 18(1), 7-17.
Chemerinsky, E. (2001). Against Sovereign Immunity. Stanford Law Review, 1201-1224
Nakles, N. J. (1976). Criminal Defense Lawyer: The Case for Absolute Immunity from Civil Liability. Dick. L. Rev., 81, 229
Rudovsky, D. (1989). The Qualified Immunity Doctrine in the Supreme Court: Judicial Activism and the Restriction of Constitutional Rights. University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 23-81
White, M. D. (2014). Police officer body-worn cameras: Assessing the evidence. Washington, DC: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
Williams, K. (2004). Our enemies in blue: Police and power in America. Soft Skull Pr.
Vaughn, M. S., Cooper, T. W., & del Carmen, R. V. (2001). Assessing legal liabilities in law enforcement: Police chief’s views. Crime & Delinquency, 47(1), 3-27.
