By signing a petition, one requirement that the citizens are seeking is for police officers to wear body cameras. This made some officers to be under pressure and required them to be very cautious in their actions so they won't be blamed. Even though I think this idea of having body cameras for police officers can be very beneficial for everyone, it could be a bit costly. This means the government has to purchase a body camera for every single officer in the united states which could be too expensive. That's why I believe for the safety of their own, police officers should purchase their own body cameras. They will have the evidence that they need in any accusation that comes against them. It wouldn't hurt them to pay for those cameras since their safety has to come first. I strongly believe that this could at least reduce the citizens' complaints against the police and also reduce the police use of force against the citizens.
Friday, April 28, 2017
Original Commentary #2
One of the concerning issues trending in the united states is the miscommunication between police officers and the citizens. This has been a a big issue especially since the shooting of Michel Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. A lot of citizens are distancing from police officers and questioning whether or not if they're doing their job properly. This is risky for both police officers and the citizens concerning their safety since it has put a big gap between each other. To avoid this, people across the nation have been trying to protest to get some attention so the situation can be better be dealt with.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I completely agree with my peer, Benny Leykun in his post about holding police officers more accountable. Not only to assure the safety of citizens but also for those in the force.
ReplyDeleteWorking as a nanny during summer for a police officer, Rick, I understand (as best I can), the strain this position can put on not only the individual, but also his or her family. “Risking your life every day in this duty with a family is scary” Rick tells me, “I used to think it was badass to fight crime, but being held at gunpoint is terrifying when you know you have two kids at home”. Becoming more and more controversial, it is important to have complete transparency in this service with body cameras.
You reap what you sow, and if government places more funding into law enforcement, there is more security in what men and women in uniforms are instilling in the safety of our public. Everyone has a right to feel safe in their communities.
ReplyDeleteI am not in favor of paying for law enforcement to have cameras nor individuals paying for their own (legal difficulties in using a privately owned camera on the job?). I would rather have the enormous costs of cameras go towards 1) their salaries and 2) massive overhaul of "use of force" policies 3) nationwide training in deescalation. The problem isn't evidence, the problem is police and citizens fearing one and other.
We've had enough filmed deaths and altercations to prove that the presence of cameras doesn't stop cops from whipping them out in excess. In states that have started using either body or dash cams there have been instances of police turning off or readjusting cams before they go forward with questionably scandalous interactions with citizens. Tapes can also be detained even while going through investigations. In the video of Sandra Bland's arrest, the video had been edited to loop despite the officers audio continuing. Even while being filmed police can be caught doing legally questionable acts and it takes public outrage for it to be called into question. Think about the officer who became a viral meme during the Occupy Wallstreet protests. After he point blank sprayed pepper spray into the eyes of a row of peaceful protesters, not an uncommon occurrence, he was held accountable by the outrage of the nation. Initially he was being considered for a paid leave of absence until the storm passed, but as the storm raged on he was sacked while being awarded with $38k in workers compensation for the psychological damage of becoming an internet joke. This was a rarely exhibited transparent case of how the judicial system gives law enforcement the benefit of the doubt even in cases of excessive force.
While I don't want to discount the real danger that officers face, it is imperative to include the fear people also face when dealing with an entity that has a robust history of excessive force especially against non-white peoples. Consider the findings of this UC Davis study,
“evidence of a significant bias in the killing of unarmed black Americans relative to unarmed white Americans, in that the probability of being black, unarmed, and shot by police is about 3.49 times the probability of being white, unarmed, and shot by police on average.”**
and from Washington Post data,
“when factoring in threat level, black Americans who are fatally shot by police are, in fact, less likely to be posing an imminent lethal threat to the officers at the moment they are killed than white Americans fatally shot by police.”**
These statistics point to deeper roots that cause distrust between law enforcement and the public, and it isn't a lack of communication that video could solve.
As far as government is concerned, it concerns me the lack of leadership supporting stricter regulations on law enforcement misconduct and use of force. At the same time it doesn't surprise me because law enforcement is so closely linked with gun regulations and no one wants the NRA against them. Why not push for deescalation training? I believe it empowers and validates the complaints of brown and black communities as well as young liberals, groups not desirable to the majority Republican party. Government has a tradition of giving great trust to law enforcement, but I believe their tactics need to be reviewed for accountability nationwide.
( **http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/07/data-police-racial-bias )
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI go back and forth between the requirement of wearing a body camera for all police officers. Let me start off by saying that I am a criminal justice major, so I do want to become a cop someday. And with all that's going on lately in the media with the police, it's driving me even more to become one. The problem that officers face is that their job is a very public one, they serve the public but that means that their mistakes also become more public than many other jobs. The duties of a police officer are also more high risked than other jobs too, they often put their lives on the line for people they don't even know. I for one respect anyone who takes it upon themselves to become a police officer, but that does not mean I agree with what some of them have done. If you talk with any officer, most of them will also tell you that they do not approve of what some of those officers have done either. I don't think we should judge every officer based on the actions of a very small minority of them, and remember that there are "bad apples" in almost every job sector. There's bad lawyers and doctors and teachers and garbage men and office workers. We are all human and we're bound to make mistakes, but I do think something has to change with how policing is handled. I just don't know exactly what....
ReplyDelete