Police Body Camera Essay

In this world, almost everything revolves around technology. Many gadgets were created and to this day they all have been modified. For example, if you were to Google ‘when was the first computer created,’ you will find out that it first started in 1943, and then finally completed in 1946. It has been 70 years since the first computer was made. Articles say that the first computer weighed about 50 tons. In this current year, a regular computer can weigh just a little less or a little more than a 100 pounds; of course depending what kind of system you would be getting. Joseph Nicephore Niepce was the first person who first used a camera in 1827. Video cameras have been around for a few decades, but they have quickly evolved. In 1982, Sony released

their first portable video camcorders. Soon, video cameras began to get smaller, yet the quality of the picture started to improve dramatically; all thanks to the digital technology. In 2010, the first 3D cameras came to the world and old tape recorders were not in use anymore.
Technology has excelled so much in these past years, so it is possible for a police officer to wear a body camera, that can in fact be small enough and not visible for someone to not notice. There is no excuse, it is possible for a small camera to be worn. All police officers should wear body cameras; it would help provide proof for a case if something went wrong while on the job. There would be no problem with an officer wearing a body camera because devices can be made small enough for an
individual to not see the camera. It would make things much easier when evidence is needed in cases like Laquan McDonald; the dashcam in the police car provided proof that the officer abused the power of his job. He shot the man 16 times and it was all on camera, there was no way he would be able to get out of that situation.
Police wearing body cameras can help solve crimes and prove who did what. In most cases, it is difficult to figure out who did what, especially without having video of what actually happened. Crime scenes can never end well. Last April in Arizona, a police officer was following a man named Mario Valencia. Earlier that day, he robbed a 7-Eleven, an hour later he set a fire at a church, entered a home and stole a car, drove to a Walmart and stole a .30-30 rifle and ammunition. Police found him in a business park; repeatedly told to drop the weapon, pointed the rifle at police several times and towards himself. It seemed as if he was playing a sick mind game. As Valencia walked towards a local manufacturer, Officer Rapiejko used his police car to stop the dangerous situation. The police officer hit the Valencia with his cop car. Valencia was seriously injured, but he survived. It might have not been the best decision to be made, but what else would have stopped him? Would he have been a coward and take his own life after causing all that craziness? Luckily the cop car had a dashcam, and it was able to provide proof from the scene. It showed Valencia’s dangerous moves to police. Also this past November in Las Vegas, a driver named James Smyth had been speeding in his sedan, and then it was reported that he hit a metro squad car. When the two CCSD officers pulled a person from the path of the car that Smyth hit, the police fired their weapons, which stopped Smyth’s Sedan and killed him. The CCSD officers were wearing body cameras at the time, which gave proof of what was occurring at that moment. It even showed the numerous times the police shot at the man. This proves that police should be wearing body cameras; it will provide as much proof as it possibly can.
Police who wear body cameras would make things easier for investigators to figure out answers to many questions; it’d display the scene around police, and if a police officer were to start shooting his or her weapon, it will be known who brought out the gun first and shot the first bullet.

It will also prove who first started the action in the crime scene. With police body cameras it will make things much easier if something were to go wrong. Last year on October in Chicago, a student named Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times; he did not go to attack the police, he did the complete opposite. He went the other way from the police, and that’s when Officer Jason Van Dyke pulled out his gun. He was not wearing a body camera, but thankfully the dash cam from another police car at the scene had recorded the whole scene. It was audible, all the yelling and gunshots were heard. There was no doubt that it was just Officer Van Dyke who did the damage; he took a man’s life. Yes, what Laquan McDonald had been doing was a crime, but what the officer did was overkill. No one has a reason to shoot someone 16 times; that number was outrageous. Imagine if there were no dash cams that night, what would’ve happened? In different cases besides Laquan McDonald, videos that are recorded can protect any false accusations or

statements.
Prevention is also a good reason why police officers should wear body cameras at all times. Both police and respondents will least likely use violence when are they are encountered. If either officer or respondent were accused of anything, there would be proof of it. These cameras can get faces, names, addresses, and other public records of the person. Police body cameras are able to show more than just the facts; it will show the entire scene, as if it were in the police officer’s eyes. The use of police body cameras, like those used in cities like Seattle are spreading to keep officers honest about using excessive force against citizens. Even though these cameras can help get to the truth of any incident, they also are recording any distraught victims, grieving family members, and even people who suffer from a mental disease. “The use of police body cameras is still in its infancy, with no official count for how many of the 18,000 state and local departments have turned to them. But dozens of agencies across the country are testing them, and many have plans to roll them out more broadly” (The Big Story). With the dozens of agencies testing out the cameras, officials will realize how much of a big help it would be for all police throughout our country. Cameras can solve one problem, but can create others.
The opposing argument of police wearing body cameras can be people feeling as if it were invasion of privacy; as if a family in mourning or distraught victims. When the police cameras are on and recording, they will capture anything the officers decide to do. Some might even say that not everything has to be recorded. Like if he or she is
for a walk to the local Dunkin Donuts, it may not seem that important to some, but it can seem a little over exaggerating. Mint Press News states that, “A policy to release all police-recorded videos could mean footage of the inside of a person’s home or a hospital would be available. But if the policy is not to release footage in order to protect a person’s privacy, that could mean a video of an officer shooting someone would not be made public, defeating the main purpose of the use of these cameras..”
When it comes to decisions like this, there’s always numerous groups of people who simply do not agree, and will do all they can to fight against it. Some can easily say that cameras are expensive and can damage easily, and they would violate not only the privacy of the police officer but also the public. Then there’s the type of people who are negative and are hopeless with their attitudes. Comments are made such as “It doesn't matter if cameras are put on the police because they’re still going to get away with murder, and they can easily erase the footage. And there will be times that it didn’t captured entire footage for the evidence…”
In conclusion, all police officers should be wearing body cameras, no matter what. Each day when they go to work they should be putting on their uniform, along with the body camera. You never know what can happen nowadays, especially with all these random acts of violence going on throughout the country, the states, the cities, the towns, and the neighborhoods. There would be no problem with an officer wearing a body camera because devices can be made small enough for an individual to not see the camera. It would make things much easier when proof is needed, like in the case with Laquan McDonald and Officer Jason Van Dyke. The police officer was not wearing a body camera, but thank God there was another police car that had it’s dashcam on. The 16 gunshots were audible and you could clearly see the teen walking the opposite of the police, and NOT doing anything to “attack” the officers. What would’ve happened if there was no video? Would anyone come clean and say what really happened that night? Would anyone have reported what Van Dyke did if there was no video? Or would they back him up and make up lies saying McDonald attacked the police? Imagine all the things police officers would get away with if they did not have the cameras. And for the police officers who are not wearing the cameras, imagine what they are capable of…With them wearing cameras, there will be much more justice for people who are accused of crimes they did not do, those who are wrongly killed, and cops who take advantage of their power.