Over the past few months, the American people have been treated to a different side of surveillance, one in which the cameras are directed at law enforcement rather than the general public. The most recent example of this new surveillance was the video taken of a police officer in McKinney, Texas manhandling a group of black teenagers and threatening them with his gun. The officer in question, Cpl. David Eric Casebolt, has resigned today, and the McKinney Police Department has condemned his actions during the incident.
The officer's resignation reflects another victory for what I am starting to think of as, with apologies to Cory Doctorow, "Little Brother," the surveillance technology we used to associate with the state-"Big Brother"-turned against government and law enforcement abuses. Little Brother has the potential, in my opinion, to at least partly alter the balance of power between the state and the people.
My Gut Reaction: Cell phone videos may not change the world, but they can help change the political landscape.
Analysis below the fold...
The now widespread ability to take instant videos of law enforcement and other government agents in action has changed the equation in terms of police brutality and other abuses. No longer can people who hear about a case of police violence just dismiss it on the assumption "He must have provoked the police." Videos by civilian eyewitnesses provide a counter narrative that forces the American public to engage with the violent reality of police brutality.
Consider, for example, the Eric Garner case. The release of the video of Garner in a chokehold brought what would have been a local incident to national attention. It galvanized a local protest movement, mobilizing thousands of New Yorkers of all races. Although the officers in question were not indicted, a clear message was sent to the NYPD and law enforcement across the country-this will not be tolerated even more.
As the varieties of surveillance technology easily available to civilians proliferate, police officers who cross the line will find it more and more difficult to cover their tracks. If they have a difficult time hiding their misconduct from cell phone users, how can they hope to hide from increasingly common civilian drones, many of which have camera capabilities.
With each new video of brutality, police departments will come under more and more pressure to clean up their acts and address public concerns. Just today, in my neck of the woods, the Philadelphia Police Department released documents related to the police shooting of Brandon Tate-Brown, an unprecedented step for the Philly PD. Even though I personally believe the Tate-Brown shooting to have been justified, this kind of transparency is what we need from law enforcement.