It seems to me that dashcams protect both the police and those they’re policing. Why they aren’t in every cop car is beyond me.
Via CNN:
Last fall, a mother driving a vehicle with five children inside was pulled over for speeding in New Mexico. The dramatic minutes that followed showing a series of confrontations between the driver and officers were caught on a police dashboard video camera and made national news.
The motorist peels away and is stopped again. One of the officers involved is seen on tape firing at the vehicle when the motorist drives away again. The woman is now facing child abuse charges related to the incident, according to CNN affiliate KRQE. The state police officer who shot at the car resigned.
Dashboard cam videos like this one have often played a role in documenting interactions between law enforcement and citizens. When those interactions go terribly wrong, as was the case in the shooting death of Ferguson, Missouri, teenager Michael Brown, it seems logical to ask: Where is the video?
There is none, Ferguson’s police chief said.
Thomas Jackson says his department has 18 patrol cars. This spring, the department purchased two dashboard cameras and two wearable body cameras, but the equipment hasn’t been installed because the department doesn’t have the money to cover that cost, he said.
A dashcam and installation runs about $3,000, he told CNN.
The August 9 shooting has sparked days of protests and violent confrontations between police and the community. The details of what happened between the officer and Brown wildly differ from witness accounts and police accounts, leaving many to wonder whether a dashboard camera could have shed light on what happened.