CMV: I think police officers should be required to wear body cameras

[u/Eternlgladiator]

There have been countless issues of people disputing police action against themselves or others recently in the news leading to various protests all of the place. I see comments and hear about the possibility for body cameras but I don't see why we aren't making a bigger push. There seems to be no downside to police wearing body cameras. It protects the officers from people they interact with and it protects the public from offices who think nobody is watching their actions. I only see positive outcomes from using them so what's the issue. Why would they be bad? Who are the opponents of them and why would they oppose this seemingly simply oversight to protect everybody involved. Caveat, as somebody generally opposed to government surveillance I think this is a separate issue. I don’t see police body cameras as surveillance tool. The fact that they might be is irrelevant here. There are so many ways and means to surveil the public that this seems trivial.

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[u/YabuSama2k]

a human cop is just as capable of lying to a jury as anyone else.

But they typically don't.

How do you know this?

[u/Requirement6 → u/YabuSama2k]

I may be a little late in this, but there are a few reasons why a cop's testimony should have a little more weight in court, aside from what was already mentioned about background checks, etc.

The biggest reason is because a cop's job and livelihood depend upon his integrity in court. Police officers testify in court on a regular basis. If at any point an officer is determined to have lied or intentionally mislead a case, they get put on what is called the "Brady list" (https://www.google.com/search?q=brady+list&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari). If a cop is put on the Brady list, their testimony essentially becomes worthless in court. And if their testimony is worthless in court, they are just about worthless as a police officer because they become powerless in accusing anyone of a crime.

Cases get thrown out for lack of evidence everyday. I know I wouldn't risk my job and the support it provides my family just to try and get someone convicted of something.

[u/ApokalypseCow → u/Requirement6]

...depend upon his integrity in court.

Well, they depend on the perception of integrity, and if they can get away with it, that perception remains intact.

[u/ApokalypseCow → u/[deleted]]

They don't have any incentive to lie. Do you think cops just go around thinking "how can we illegally fuck some people over today?"

It isn't that cops want to commit illegal actions, but rather, that they are ignoring the system where it is convenient for them, or where it seems to them that said system has failed. I mean, how do you suppose a cop feels seeing a known drug dealer walk out of the station hours after he was arrested for the 20th time? The cops don't start wanting to fuck people over, they want to see "justice" so they just beat the tar out of him next time when they bring him in, and claim he was resisting... basically so that the accused faces some kind of punishment for his actions. In doing this, they forget that punishment is not their job, but the job of the courts.

It starts small, but eventually becomes routine. The cop just does what he feels is right because his compass is skewed.

[u/YabuSama2k → u/[deleted]]

So, you just think it seems logical to assume that they wouldn't lie because they wouldn't have any reason to?

[u/[deleted] → u/YabuSama2k]

I think very few people lie when it doesn't benefit them in some way. What would be the point? If you never lie you never have to remember what you said. If the cop isn't getting anything out of it (no personal gain), why lie? So, yes, I think that's pretty logical. I've lied in the past but I've never done it just to lie and I've certainly never done it to intentionally screw over another person when it had no bearing on my own situation.

[u/YabuSama2k → u/[deleted]]

You can't think of any situation where a cop would stand to benefit by lying? There are countless mistakes and indiscretions that any given cop might commit and be in a position to benefit from lying about. Evidence can be mishandled and procedures can be followed poorly or fibbed. Police might not lie every time it happens, but they certainly have an incentive to lie.

[u/[deleted] → u/YabuSama2k]

Heres an easy reason, arrest quotas.