Protests in Ferguson, Missouri

[eynon81]

yep

[John Galt]

i can understand the police aversion to it. i wouldn't want a camera on me whenever i was doing my job. but in the end it is to protect everyone, including the cops. yes, if they make decisions that result in loss of life, they will be questioned on them. yes, their actions, their words, their everything will be scrutinized. but even if its a gray area, it's something to show a jury and if it creates reasonable doubt it protects the officer to have that instead of this witch huntery

[Spider]

Yep. Good for both sides. Cops lie. Criminals lie. Cameras don't.

[eynon81]

[eynon81]

[Philly]

We already have video of the cops choking out Eric Garner in Staten Island. The video shows he was not threatening or attacking them. The video shows him down and restrained, screaming that he can't breath, while they ignored his pleas for help. This happened weeks before Brown was shot, and there are still no charges. Cameras help sort out the facts but they won't solve our societal bias.

[Spider]

@non
That's just it though. The thing always records the 30 minutes prior to when the button gets pushed. So as long as the cop pushes the button when the interaction with the public begins, its recording everything from that moment in addition to the prior 30 minutes.

[Professor]

One thing that I find odd. The account where, according to Johnson (friend of Brown, who was walking with him), the cop tried to open his door, it hit him and Brown and bounced back closed. Then, the officer grabbed Brown by the neck.

Couple things wrong with that. Car doors don't bounce off people when they are opened only a few inches. Why? Because your hand is still on the door, forcing it open. Sure, it'll bounce once you remove your hand. But, even then, it doesn't "bounce" off people. People are soft. Things don't bounce off soft things. It'll thud and stop opening, but it won't bounce like it hit a wall.

But, that's almost incidental. The real thing that bothers me about that account is that a cop is trained not to initiate contact while in a seated position like that. That's about the most vulnerable situation there is. The other guy is standing up, and is outside the car. He can move around. He can use the car for leverage. He can reach in with his arms, while leaving his face and head outside the car and out of harm. Whereas the cop, in a seated position, has almost no leverage. He cannot use his legs. It's extremely difficult to reach more than a foot outside a car window (what happens when you pull up to a McDonalds drive through and the window is just out of reach?). And, most importantly, it's extremely hard to draw your gun, tazer, or anything else that's on your belt when you are seated. Ever tried to grab some change out of your pocket while seated? It's damn impossible.

But, cops are trained not to engage until they are out of the car. I find it difficult (not impossible, though) to believe that the cop would engage someone as large as Brown while the cop is still seated in his car.

Now, saying all that, I'll admit (and hope that others do the same) that we don't know what happened. We may never know, but we certainly don't know right now. My opinion is far from fact - I just find it a little odd.

[eynon81]

[eynon81]