With the wide availability of video taping equipment these days—from cellphone cameras to mounted motorcycle helmet cameras—police officers are finding that their every move is subject to the scrutiny of thousands of people once the footage hits the Internet.
More often than not, this footage is posted in order to expose police behavior than some deem “brutal.” Commenters throw out phrases like “excessive force” and “unconstitutional,” while police departments hit back stating that officers acted appropriately and according to police guideline.
In some cases, notably the Rodney King case and the Dole family case, evidence makes it clear that the behavior of responding officers was inappropriate and of a brutal nature. It’s not always that clear cut, though,
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The action is made all the more extreme when footage before the attack shows the young man calmly walking down the hall. His offense? Ignoring the officer’s demand that he tuck in his shirt.
And then there’s the infamous pepper spray officer, shown spraying a thick stream of chemicals in the faces of peaceful Occupy protesters.The protesters are sitting on the ground motionless, heads down, arms linked.
From public streets to public schools, all of these cases involved police force—some warranted, some possibly not. However, the true uniting factor is the presence of a video camera. It is in video evidence that we have proof. While some cases require a strong-arm response from the police, the resistance of some officers against the presence of civilian videotaping doesn’t look very good, does it? If police force is not brutal and not excessive, then why have such a hostile response toward the video camera? If anything, it’s there as an ally. The people who should fear recording are those who don’t want their actions used as evidence. Officers should have nothing to fear if they truly are observing proper