Police Brutality Statistics

[Diogenes]

What would be more interesting is what you think about. You don't say.

I would have thought my position would have been clear enough from reading the excerpts I chose to post. If that was too subtle for you, I will state unequivocally that I currently believe the cop deliberately killed a man in cold blood and he also appears to have believed he would get away with it.


It appears he deliberately tampered with evidence to make it seem as if Walter Scott tried to use the Taser on him. I think the Police department has done the right thing by firing him and urging murder charges against him.


I think it is a tragedy that Walter Scott has been killed and that his children will no longer have their father.


I think we shall probably hear shortly that this cop was a closet racist and that past incidents involving him may bear this out.


I think this and other incidents will bring closer a prediction I made back in 1992 that eventually all law enforcement officers will have "badge cams" that will dramatically improve adherence to the law by Police. I know from my own experience that many cops think they are above the law and have the right to treat other people like sh*t, and "badge cams" will go a long way towards disabusing them of that notion.


That's what I think.

[Diogenes]

You didn't ask what I think Stubby...but aside from the obvious point that some cops apparently think they have a license to kill ala James Bond;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Licence_to_kill_(concept)

I think that cheap readily available video/audio recorders in the hands of the great masses of the people combined with the internet (you-Tube etc.) are shaping up to be one of the greatest engines of social change ever seen. Our would be masters now have to worry about being watch-dogged by witnesses that can't be denied, easily discredited, threatened, killed, or easily silenced; far as I am concerned all cops should be required by law to have body-cams with automatically down-loaded backups.

Agree on both counts. I've been predicting "badge cams" for the last two decades. As a matter of fact, I've got a pretty good track record with all my predictions. I think this is why I tend to be so cynical.

[GIThruster]

I think that cheap readily available video/audio recorders in the hands of the great masses of the people combined with the internet (you-Tube etc.) are shaping up to be one of the greatest engines of social change ever seen. Our would be masters now have to worry about being watch-dogged by witnesses that can't be denied, easily discredited, threatened, killed, or easily silenced; far as I am concerned all cops should be required by law to have body-cams with automatically down-loaded backups.

I agree except that I would also note the danger here, of presuming too much based upon video. There is already a cottage industry of video editing on the sly, and this is going to become a serious problem as more and more video comes out for use as any sort of evidence. When it comes right down to basic warrant for belief, video is only as trustworthy as the path it has taken from the camera to the court room. It is in this, not entirely different in kind from eyewitness testimony, but it is much more convincing and so much more dangerous. We thus need to be careful that the camera does not become the favored tool of the oppressor to work his will on us all. ". . .dogged by witnesses that can't be denied. . ." is a dangerous attitude to have toward any tool and video is just another tool.

[williatw]

I agree except that I would also note the danger here, of presuming too much based upon video. There is already a cottage industry of video editing on the sly, and this is going to become a serious problem as more and more video comes out for use as any sort of evidence. When it comes right down to basic warrant for belief, video is only as trustworthy as the path it has taken from the camera to the court room.

I would be more concerned with the path of the police body cam footage from camera to courtroom than a citizens' cellphone camera/camcorder; the former (the police) can maybe get away with "editing" at will what they decide to release to the public/media/courts with little concern for repercussions. A citizen by contrast who filmed something like police abuse than uploaded it to you-tube would run the risk of potential felony charges being brought against him if it (the tape) becomes evidence of a crime and it is found out he secretly altered it.

It is in this, not entirely different in kind from eyewitness testimony, but it is much more convincing and so much more dangerous. We thus need to be careful that the camera does not become the favored tool of the oppressor to work his will on us all.

Which is why I strongly favor the video camera & uploading technology solidly in the hands of the masses of the people; the more sources of evidence (video) there are in a situation the tougher it would be to get away with doctoring it. Evidence of police misconduct caught by private security cameras & multiple bystanders on their smart phones and subsequently posted would be tough to discredit away. That would be more likely to occur in the case where only the police have the video evidence; they can "release", "edit", make available as they see fit with much lesser repercussions.

[hanelyp]

I've heard it related that initially there was resistance to police dashboard cameras, but complaints against police dropped when they came into use. You might debate whether that was because police changed behavior for the better or there were fewer false complaints. Either is a good outcome.

As for editing video evidence, I understand it's inadmissible in court without testimony to provenance. Which introduces perjury charges in the case of manipulated video. Though that depends on key people bothering to prosecute perjury and similar abuses.

[Diogenes]

I think everything is time stamped and it is not possible to edit it without it being apparent.

[rjaypeters]

I've seen apps which can automatically upload video to the cloud. Good plan when the police officers want to confiscate your phone, illegally, and delete the video you have lawfully recorded.

I have read on-line efforts encouraging citizens to record police interactions which are going badly. Since events unfold rapidly, we would be better served by recording, from the start, every police interaction we encounter* I think there is a business opportunity here. I would be willing to wear a (shoulder-mounted?) auto-leveled and stabilized HD camera which records at least a 270 degree FOV and records when I select. Automatic uploading to the cloud would a great feature.

Anyone know of a camera like this?

BTW, I recommend the writings of science fiction authors about what our developing civil surveillance state will look like in a few years. I think Vernor Vinge had some good stories in the vein.

*Some activists recommend buddy recorders: one to record the police actions and another recorder to record the recorder of the police actions.

P.S. North Charleston is about 15 miles from my home. South Carolina has a bad record of this police misbehavior.

[MSimon]

The rhinoceros in the room is that Prohibition regimes encourage bad police behavior. Alcohol prohibition was notorious. There were a number of police commissions that took on that Prohibition. They encouraged more professional training. We did that. But you can't eradicate human nature. Under prohibition regimes, everyone is a potential criminal.

Milton Friedman raised the alarm in '72 in a WSJ article. He was dismissed as too left wing for the righties and too right wing for the lefties. And yet he was correct.

It took about 20 years after the end of Alcohol Prohibition for the police to start getting their reputation back.

But a lot of it has to do with the Public Mindset. Peace Officers or Enforcers? They may wear the same suit. They are not the same animal.

And note: We have a Federal Government full of enforcers. It is not just the DEA. It is the EPA, the FDA, and whole hosts of men with guns.

======================

Every tax, every regulation comes with it an army of bureaucrats and behind that an army (with guns) of enforcers.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

======================

Which is to say - once upon a time we knew better. We used to believe in severely limited government. From bitter experience.

[MSimon]

http://news.yahoo.com/dash-cam-video-sh ... 54486.html

And to the point of recent comments:

Police cruiser video shows moments before fatal shooting

The shooting took place on Saturday and the department and Slager's lawyer said the officer fired in self-defense during a scuffle over his department-issued Taser. Within days, the eyewitness video surfaced and immediately changed perceptions of what happened, leading the department to charge Slager with murder and fire him from the force he'd worked on for five years.

The dash cam video shows Scott being pulled over in a used Mercedes-Benz he had purchased just days earlier. Police have said he was being stopped for a broken tail light. Slager is seen walking toward the driver's side window and heard asking for Scott's license and registration. Slager then returns to his cruiser. Next, the video shows Scott starting to get out of the car, his right hand raised above his head, then he quickly gets back into the car and closes the door.

Seconds later, he opens the door again and takes off running. Within a city block or two, out of the dashboard camera's view, Slager catches up to him in an empty lot.

A bystander noticed the confrontation and pushed record on his cellphone, capturing video that has outraged the nation: it shows Scott running away again, and Slager firing eight shots at his back.

There is almost nothing in Slager's police personnel file to suggest that his bosses considered him a rogue officer capable of murdering a man during a traffic stop. In the community he served, however, people say this reflects what's wrong with policing today: Officers nearly always get the last word when citizens complain.

"We've had through the years numerous similar complaints, and they all seem to be taken lightly and dismissed without any obvious investigation," the Rev. Joseph Darby, vice president of the Charleston branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said Thursday.

====================

Peace Officers or Enforcers? What kind of country do you want?

[MSimon]

And this is what Simon doesn't get. We do not deserve to be victims.

I agree with that. Totally. But I think police should be held to a higher standard. But it all gets confused when it goes form keeping public order to "victim prevention". We once had a regime designed to prevent people from becoming victims of Alcohol. We got some serious public disorder and police misconduct out of that one.

It all comes down to

Peace Officer or Enforcer.

[MSimon]

Some commentary from Free Republic regarding this incident.

To: Osage Orange

You want civilian union cops shooting people in the back for running away from a traffic stop?

How about what appears to be the planting of a weapon?

35 posted on Wednesday, April 08, 2015 3:19:45 PM by ansel12 (Palin--Mr President, the only thing that stops a bad guy with a nuke is a good guy with a nuke.)

That now calls into question every officer's claim of "he was armed".

A lot of this attitude by police stems from the condoning of "testilying" to win Prohibition cases. And before you know it there is no truth. Just the officer's word. Well you know how it goes. Truth is always a casualty of war. And making war on the American people is the job of the police. Nixon said so.

And what is more amazing is that "conservatives" agreed with the war. Liberals were going to be the target. (Stalinism anyone?) And for all their troubles they have gotten (unexpectedly by them) a police state in return.

And those of us who said this would end badly were derided and laughed out of the conversation. Not near as funny as it used to be, eh?

[MSimon]

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015 ... MP=ema_565

Mel Packer
17h ago

If the second officer, Habersham, saw Slager drop the taser by the body and did not report that, then the officer should also be charged with concealing evidence and as an accessory to the crime. If and when he takes the stand, we will see if he is willing to perjure himself.

Conker64
17h ago

I would like to see the detailed reports filed by the second officer, Clarence Habersham, including exact timelines.
He was clearly in a position to see his murdering colleague bring the Taser up to the body and casually plant it at his side.
If Habersham did not report that action in his written statement before this video surfaced, then he should be dishonorably dismissed from the force.

If this culture of blatant evidence tampering is allowed to persist in the Police force, then none of us will ever be safe from false arrest and imprisonment.

The culture of blatant evidence tampering is a direct result of the condoning of testilying". And rampant testilying is an outgrowth of Prohibition. Had enough yet?

[GIThruster]

I would be willing to wear a (shoulder-mounted?) auto-leveled and stabilized HD camera which records at least a 270 degree FOV and records when I select. Automatic uploading to the cloud would a great feature.

Anyone know of a camera like this?

It is normally the mount that is auto-leveling. What you're talking about is called a "steadicam mount", and usually relies upon a large moment arm extended downward from the camera base to make the whole thing shake less. They're so successful at what they do that much of Hollywood has gone from the classic boom mounted cameras to steadicams because they shoot faster on set and can easily be walked through sets. All of Firefly was shot with steadicam. If you just search that term you'll find a large variety of offerings. Generally bigger is better because it is the moment arm that steadies the camera.

[choff]

The word I've heard on the latest police shooting is that the poor guy had missed two child support payments and was scared of being sent to jail for it.

[choff]

I'm going to have to uninstall Men Kampf from my browser, this is getting ridiculous.