The addition of police body cameras originally seemed to many like a reasonable way to address repeated instances of racial violence. After all, police would surely monitor their behavior if they knew that behavior was being literally monitored. Of course, that hasn’t been the result. Cameras added to police budgets, but have repeatedly been conveniently off or nonfunctional at the most critical moments. And, as the incident with George Floyd made so horribly clear, racist cops haven’t bothered to reduce their violence even when they’re aware that the cameras are rolling. The misuse and non-use of police body cameras is a prime example of how impossible it is to “reform” a system that’s intrinsically built on the assumption that police live outside the justice system. And if those camera incidents weren’t obvious evidence for why defunding of the current system is necessary, the U. S. Park Police have provided an even more blatant example of how the entire police system cooperates in cover-up of injustice.
Despite clear evidence, recorded at the scenes by individuals and news cameras, that peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square were attacked without provocation by Park Police determined to clear a path for Trump’s photo op at St. John’s Episcopal Church, the White House has repeatedly insisted this did not happen. From Donald Trump to William Barr, officials have claimed that protesters were engaged in violence, that chemical agents were not used, and that the order to clear the streets was not connected to Trump’s Bible-waving stroll. The definitive truth behind these assertions might be found in the the radio communications recorded by the Park Police. They might be found there … if those recordings were not very conspicuously missing.
The U. S. Park Police, like many police departments, supposedly records every minute of its radio logs in case they are needed in any sort of inquiry. However, just like the frequently AWOL body cams, these records are proving to be purely theoretical in this case.
As The Washington Post reports, the actions that took place on June 1—which included deployment of tear gas, smoke, and flash bangs, as well as riding down protesters using mounted forces—are now the subject of an investigation in the House as well as inspectors general at the Interior Department and Justice Department. The incident is also, not unexpectedly, the subject of a number of civil lawsuits from protesters and organizations who feel that having their right to peacefully protest interrupted by a face full of chemicals or a charging horse is a bad thing.
Those present in the Square that day were continuing the forceful, nonviolent protests that followed the police murder of George Floyd. The attack came before a scheduled curfew, and was immediately followed by Trump making his PR-stunt walk to the now-empty church where clergy had been working with the crowd minutes before.
Representative Raúl Grijalva, stated he obvious in saying, “Trump administration officials ordered the attack on clergy, nonviolent protesters, and working members of the press. For the official audio record of that day to now turn up missing has every appearance of a cover-up.”
Appearance is putting it way too mildly. The Park Police do not wear body cameras. That means that they audio recordings constitute the only check on claims about their actions. Instead, Park Police officials claim that, “we discovered that the radio recorder was not working and did not record any transmissions.”
But not to worry. There are “written logs.” Those logs apparently back up claims made by Barr that protesters were hurling “objects” at the Park Police. The written logs also conveniently record the police as saying that chemical agents are not going to be used. What the written logs don’t explain is how cameras on the scene failed to capture the supposed attacks on police, but definitely did capture the use of chemical agents—an attack that’s been documented down to containers and shells found after the event.
The Park Police did not respond to requests from the Post on how those written logs were generated.