New Mexico sheriff says body cam video unfair to officers
Source: Associated Press
Updated 2:38 pm, Wednesday, November 22, 2017
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) The sheriff of New Mexico's most populous county will not require his deputies to use body cameras because he said the media would use the footage to unfairly criticize the officers.
Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales told KOAT-TV in a story Tuesday that the video "gives a lopsided, one-sided story, which I think is a disservice to the whole community."
His stance has drawn criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union and the New Mexico Foundation of Open Government.
Bernalillo deputies have been involved in nine shootings in the last four months. In the most recent, 50-year-old Matthew Scudero was fatally shot after authorities said he opened fire on deputies on Nov. 10.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/New-Mexico-sheriff-s-refusal-of-body-cameras-12377699.php
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)Akoto
(4,267 posts)Body cameras allow you to see not only what suspects did, but what the officer did and said, almost as if seeing the incident through their eyes. It's not a lopsided perspective, it's both sides displayed through one device. I'm pretty sure I've heard statistics out there (don't quote me) about claims of abuse going down since body cams became standard practice, as well.
Wonder if some action can be taken to counter this move, aside from public objections, which have already been issued by the ACLU etc?
Baconator
(1,459 posts)... but in the stupidest way possible that folks who view these videos later, with the benefit of hindsight, not at risk and probably in possession of more information than was available at the time, would not judge the officers fairly.
It's a legitimate point but the benefits outweigh the costs IMO.
Journeyman
(15,038 posts)He sees cameras as a win all-around: They protect the interests of both officer and citizen, and by their presence and the recognition by both sides that their interaction is being recorded, he believes cameras keep both sides from overreacting.
But then, he favored them while on duty because, as he explained, he never gave cause for complaint.
We did agree however that even in the best of circumstances reasonable people can disagree on whether the ball was caught and if the tag was made before or after the baserunner hit the bag. Given those limitations, and the uncertainties they can sometimes cause, the use of cameras in law enforcement seems an overall positive.
I wonder what has Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales worried?
christx30
(6,241 posts)Why would we want to get a story except from his people directly?
msongs
(67,441 posts)uppityperson
(115,679 posts)Phil Ossified
(28 posts)...then what's the point of wearing a badge, right?
truthisfreedom
(23,155 posts)Pure unadulterated facts. Its on the side of truth. Very one-sided on the side of truth.
sakabatou
(42,174 posts)rather than what happened at face value?
xor
(1,204 posts)These people are unbelievable.