Since these events, however, law enforcement body cameras have been the talk of the nation. With regards to the case concerning the death of Michael Brown, many individuals across the country sternly believe that if there had been actual footage of the shooting that day, Officer Wilson would have been indicted for his actions. With that said, since this specific incident, 30 out of 54 Ferguson police officers have actually began wearing body cameras (Ponsi). Some proponents argue that body cameras will not help to indict officers or even hold them accountable for their actions. These individuals, of course, refer to the death of Eric Garner as an example of this.
On July 17, 2014, a New York City Police Department (NYPD) Officer, Daniel Pantaleo, placed Mr. Garner in a chokehold (Rahel Gebreyes, 2015). As a result, Mr. Garner later died and an autopsy showed that his passing was a direct result of the choke hold. With that said, the entire incident was captured on video by an onlooker on his cell phone; which some would argue had a better viewpoint than a video from a body‐mounted camera would have (Rahel Gebreyes, 2015). Even with the video footage, a grand jury still chose not to indict Officer Pantaleo.
In reality, the basic truth is that we as a society would whole-heartedly like to believe that seeing video footage of a high risk incident, such as an officer involved‐shooting, would somehow tell the whole story in regards to what happened and how, and that
The shooting of sparked a nation-wide movement not only demanding justice for Mike Brown, but also protesting the racial discrimination deeply embedded in the criminal justice system as well as various institutions in the larger American society. Furthermore, jfdkjfjdakljk something about international recognition. Similar protests and riots have been springing up in other cities since 1960s, and police killings of unarmed black men happen once every 28 hours (Kahle, 2014). However, Michael Brown’s killing has led to the most sustained uprising against police violence in at least two decades, centered among the African American residents of Ferguson, and has rallied significant nationwide support as well as international attention (Kahle, 2014; Taylor, 2014). The killing of Michael Brown is by no means an isolated event, and presence of racial tensions, especially in the St. Louis area, was already present long before. The large-scale pushback that the killing of Michael Brown has set in motion, then, seems to have been the last straw, prompting the eruption of decades of pent up frustration at a racist and oppressive system. That being said, what are the previous straws that have slowly pushed the black community in Ferguson to the breaking point? What are the factors that have caused these tensions to boil over and erupt into such a large-scale upheaval? This paper will explore some of the
There are a lot of incidents that happen between police, and criminals. Always a mix up, confusion, miscommunication, and sadly, police brutality, but police always get the benefit of the doubt because of lack of evidence. A incident happened way back in around 2009, it was actually on January 1st. A twenty-two year old young man named Oscar Grant was shot at Fruitvale Station, by an officer that “thought” he was using a taser, but actually used a gun. If that officer would have had a body camera on, he would’ve been more aware of what he was doing, and he would have been caught sooner because they would have been able to see, and tell that Grant wasn’t being defiant.
In the summer of 2014, 18-year-old Michael Brown was fatally shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. After the shooting, there had been conflicting reports by police and eyewitnesses about what exactly happened. Officer Wilson insist Brown was confrontational throughout the encounter, while eyewitnesses say Brown has his hands up trying to surrender before he was shot and killed. Following the Grand jury’s decision not to indict officer Wilson over the shooting of Michael Brown and similar cases of officer-involved shootings and brutality such as the death of Eric Garden in Staten Island, New York, politicians, family advocates, civil rights activists, and law enforcement officials have called for police across the country to adopt the use of body-worm cameras. Although there are many who feel police body cameras present a challenge to privacy and safety issues for both cops and civilians, by recording police-citizen encounters, it increases transparency and accountability of officers and the video recorded by body cams protect any false accusations, police misconduct, officials can get clear evidence of what happened instead of relying on hearsay.
9 shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old who had scuffled with Ferguson officer Darren Wilson, came just a few weeks after Eric Garner — an unarmed black man accused of illegally selling cigarettes — died in a struggle with white New York City officers. Garner’s death was captured by an onlooker’s video. Brown’s was not, and word quickly spread that he had been shot while surrendering with his hands up — an assertion uncorroborated by state and federal investigations.
Just this April, the city’s Police Accountability Task Force found that the Chicago Police Department has “no regard for the sanctity of life when it comes to people of color.” Chicago’s population is 31.7% white, 32.9% Black, 28.9% Latino, and 5.5% Asian. However, the Task Force reported that the city’s police officers shoot Black residents at significantly disproportionate rates. Between 2008 and 2015, of all people injured or killed in police-related shootings, 74% were Black, 14% were Hispanic, 8% were white and less than 1% were Asian. The report found almost identical numbers when it came to statistics regarding the use of Tasers. The report also analyzed all people stopped by police during the summer of 2014 and found they were 72% Black,
Four years ago Danroy “DJ” henry Jr. from Easton, Ma, was killed by a New york police officer. Since then the nation seen the death of trayvon Martin who was kiilled by a neighborhood watch volunteer and Michael brown who recently just got killed by a policeman in Ferguson, Missoury. However, the story of Eric Garner is shown to be an ongoing issue between Eric Garner and the New york police department weeks prior to the incident. In the video, Garner is seeing expressing to the policeman that he was tired of being harassed by the same policeman and he was not selling cigarettes. During the whole conversation more officers started to approach the scene and eventually as Garner was speaking the officers moved to arrest a much taller Eric Garner. After Garner resisted the arrest, officer daniel pantaleo approached garner and put him in what is an illegal chokehold and brought him to the ground. Four other officers restrained Garner in the sidewalk where he repeated “ I cant Breathe” 11 times to the police officers that was in the scene. After the incident the police department stated it was an unfortunate situation of man who had previous altercation with the police prior to july 17th 2014. After the incident medical examiners determine Garner’s cause of death was due to neck compression, and the compression of his chest and contributing health factors such as asthma and cardiovascular condition that correlates with his death. On December 3rd 2014 a grand jury decided not to
After this case found itself all over media, several other incidents of police violence followed suit. Eric Garner was another such case, in which a man was placed in a non-regulation chokehold by a New York police officer that ultimately took part in his death. Garner was apprehended for selling illegal cigarettes, and attempting to continue walking away when officers tried to stop him. This incident coined the protest phrase “I can’t breathe”, something that Garner said while in the chokehold. The media was eager to light the fire under
How has the outlook of the police changed over the last five years? Well there has been very many controversial cases where citizens have ended up dead. Are these officers really cold blooded killers? Or are the citizens the ones at fault here?
Imagine you received mistreatment from a police officer and decide to take legal action against them. The situation becomes their word against yours because there is no evidence to prove the mistreatment you suffered. Not all police officers are out to treat people incorrectly or use excessive force; however, in the cases when they do, there is usually no way to prove that it happened. There are also cases where people say they were mistreated by a police officer, but it is not true. What if there were a way to monitor how cops interact with the public? Body cameras offer a solution to the need to monitor police actions. They capture the truth, whether good or bad, that happens with police officers. Police should wear body cameras to be protected from legal cases, as demonstrated in the case of David Muniz, who was accused of being the reason for a Cleveland man’s death.
The Eric Garner case. The officer Daniel Pantaleo, did not get on any charge after putting Garner in a chokehold move is visible, Garners last words were “I can’t breathe.” (Davidson)
On Saturday, Eric Garner’s mother spoke to the thousands of demonstrators who took the streets in protest to Garner’s unlawful death, she said, “Keep on doing it, but do it in peace.” Garner was a New York shop owner, known for illegally selling cigarettes. Daniel Pantelo, the officer responsible for locking Garner in the choke hold, responded to a 911 call about Garner illegally selling cigarettes once again. Officer Pantelo pulled Garner into a choke hold after refusing to talk with Pantelo and his colleagues. Garner pleaded,
On July 17th, 2014, Garner was arrested on suspicion of selling “loosies”, single cigarettes from packs without tax stamps. The incident was captured on video tape and made publicly available shortly after and went viral. In the footage, the asthmatic, three-hundred-fifty pound Eric Garner was put into an apparent chokehold in an effort to subdue him after he told the arresting officers that he “was tired of being harassed” and refused to comply with their orders. In the footage audio Garner can be heard exclaiming “I can’t breathe” eleven times before the chokehold is released. Garner had to be hospitalized immediately, and was pronounced dead less than an hour after the incident. Garner’s death was ruled a homicide and the officer responsible
Body Cams In America, police brutality has been a subject that has been a hot topic of discussion for some time now. Many people have strong opinions on what they believe is best for the citizens and for law enforcement. A big question for many is, “how can we find a solution to this ongoing problem?”
In a case highlighted by The police staff an Arizona police officer had a confrontation one day on the job that ended up in a fight with the individual that he confronted. The bystanders videoed the fight but not the whole confrontation. Later on the video taken by the bystanders became viral and put the officer in a bad light with the public for using force with the person he confronted, but luckily for him he was wearing a body-worn camera that was issued to him. The video on his camera showed the whole confrontation and cleared up all the questions and false judgments of the police officer that the public had put on him. This was just one of many instances that body cameras have helped recently since they have only been in use in some areas for a short period of time now. Body worn cameras are small, compact, as well as lightweight so they do not inconvenience the user. They have been used for many reasons by many different realms of people throughout the short time they have been in production. A few police departments around the country have started implementing the use of body cameras. The idea of having all police officers wearing body cameras is up in the air without any decision set in stone as of now. There are many different organizations doing research on the use of body cameras, and the effects they have both in the positive aspects and how they help and some of the negative properties that might be brought up by both police
Today we hear so much on the issue of police brutality and recent cases where notice lives have been lost therefore there is the current talk of incorporating police body cameras. Since the major event that occurred on August 9th in 2014, where an 18-year-old boy named Michael Brown who was shot by Officer Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri many people around the nation believed that if there has been any footage of that day, Officer Wilson would be able to show and demonstrate his actions without any doubt. “Post-Ferguson, body cameras became a hot topic nationally. In December, the White House proposed spending $263 million to help police agencies arm themselves with cameras… in Ferguson, 30 of 54 police began wearing cameras.” (Ponsi) Still, there