Ferguson police are using body cameras

[kpete]

Source: St Louis Post Dispatch

FERGUSON • Police officers here began wearing body cameras on Saturday as marchers took to the streets in the most recent protest of a shooting three weeks earlier by a city officer that left an unarmed teenager dead.

Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson said his department was given about 50 body cameras by two companies, Safety Visions and Digital Ally, about a week ago. The companies donated the body cameras after the fatal shooting on Aug. 9 of Michael Brown Jr. by Ferguson officer Darren Wilson.

Company representatives were at the police department on Saturday training officers to use the devices, which attach to uniforms and record video and audio. Some members of the police department have been specially trained on the devices’ use.

................

The cameras are being assigned to squads, and each officer will get one to use, he said.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/ferguson-police-are-using-body-cameras/article_88e0067c-d3e6-5599-a581-a58d0022f1f8.html

[3rdwaydem]

1. Obviously too late but, it might prevent further needless deaths

I don't think cameras alone are enough. Given the history of problems with that department, there should be some house cleaning - starting with the Chief.

[pipoman]

5. Or they may take the controversy out of police actions. ..

[3rdwaydem]

8. I hope so

[jwirr]

2. One step ahead. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the companies that provided the

cameras and the training. Now lets see how they work out.

[Hoyt]

3. Probably quickest way to improve things.. Not total answer, but part of solution.

Kudos to companies donating recorders.

[Fred Sanders]

4. One MRAP would pay for cameras for all of St Louis police.

[pipoman]

9. Less than a taser, or a side arm, or body armor...

[immoderate]

10. With money left over for tasers and rubber bullets.

(In case the cameras don't do the job. )

--imm

[cstanleytech]

6. Agreed. I just hope the majority of people of Ferguson stop being lazy

and bring long term change by getting involved in the running of their city and staying involved which means they need to get out and vote at elections.

[cui bono]

12. Lazy?

[FormerOstrich]

13. Lazy? Really?

I think there are a lot of dynamics at work which have kept the residents of Ferguson from voting at elections. Lazy isn't the most prevalent, IMHO.

[cstanleytech]

17. If they arent getting involved with running their own city by running for elected office or atleast

voting in elections then yes its lazy.
Especially when you consider the fact that the majority of the city council is white yet the white population only accounts for 29.3% of the population.

[Stardust]

19. One half of all eligible Americans are not registered to vote; only half of those registered do vote

It's not just a Ferguson problem.

[Android3.14]

22. Irrelevant in this case

The per capita distribution is what is important here. The per capita distribution across the groups that do vote indicates a few possibilities. Either there are mechanisms in the elections that prevent counts of black voters (possible, but I haven't read any complaints about that), the black voters generally vote for white leadership over black leadership (appears unlikely), or that the white minority in Ferguson disproportionately vote at a rate that would have to be something along the lines of 2-3 times more than the black majority.

I suppose it is possible that no black leaders run for political office, but that would seem unlikely unless black voters were represented proportionally in Ferguson and chose not to vote for black candidates.

While it is provocative, insensitive and appears a bit racist of cstanleytech to use the word "lazy", the observation that the black majority in Ferguson must become active in the political machine in order to see a change in the demographic makeup of the political leadership is accurate.

[cstanleytech]

24. Oh I didnt mean it in a racist aspect at all android. I would say the same if the council was

90% black and the population was 70% white as that would also tend to lean imo to a lazy population who wont get off their butts to get involved in running their own city.

[Stardust]

28. Not irrelevant, IMO, but whatever...

[Shipwack]

23. Threats of arrest are also used to discourage black votes.

A disproportionate number citations and fines are given to the black population. People with outstanding fines don't want to show up at the polls and risk being arrested.

[cantbeserious]

7. Step In The Right Direction For All Concerned

eom

[MADem]

11. They need to call those things "Mike Browns" and equip every police in the land with them. nt

[ReRe]

14. ^^^^^^^^^

Hear! Hear! That right there is the best idea I've seen in ages.

[msongs]

15. now they need to learn how to wear name tags and badge numbers nt

[PFunk]

16. Great Idea but...

IMO I think the Ferguson PD is also trying to avoid further oncoming lawsuits.

[Hoyt]

18. Would be a smart move.o

[blkmusclmachine]

20. Soon we'll all be wearing body cameras, whether we want to or not.

Welcome to 1984

[ErikJ]

21. Cameras are a lot cheaper than multi-million $ law suits.

Bcuz they keep everybody on their best behavior.

[valerief]

25. Are they required to turn them on? nt

[Man from Pickens]

26. Maybe

But if the deployment is typical, in every single case where an officer has really f-ed up, the tape will be missing or edited before being submitted into evidence, or the camera will have a magical "officer safety" malfunction.

[ZombieHorde]

27. One step in the right direction.

Many more steps to go.