I read last week in the Statesman that APD officials are reviewing their patrol car camera policies in regards to when officers must turn on their devices. The paper claimed that the new policies will likely require officers to film any incident in which they detain or try to stop a suspect, and will also likely require backup officers to also record incidents.

Police officials are also reviewing whether an officer's failure to follow the policy should fall under disciplinary guidelines. (As an aside, I have never handled a DWI case on either side of the bench where an officer forgot to turn on his or her camera to record a person walking the imaginary line.)

This policy review comes after the fatal shooting of Nathaniel Sanders II by Senior Police Officer Leonardo Quintana, whose camera was not recording when he fired at Sanders. If I were an officer who found myself in a deadly situation and believed my actions were justified, I would definitely want that recorded as the video would serve to protect and exonerate me. And, if the shooting was not justified, Mr. Sanders' family and the rest of our community deserves to be told the truth.

I commend the APD top brass for reviewing these policies and hope that they do implement policy that requires all potential stops and detentions to be recorded.

Even better, I would like to see the cameras automatically activated as soon as their overhead lights or sirens are turned on or as soon as they respond to a dispatch. Or a type of rotating digital loop like security cameras use in which the camera is constantly recording. Surely we're technologically capable of that.

Labels: abuse of power, APD, cameras, leonardo quintana, nathaniel sanders II, police violence, policy, recording

posted by Kristi Couvillon   permalink   0 Comments