Among the hurried championing of body cameras as the solution to police brutality, many activists and experts have approached the idea with caution. And as body cameras are increasingly implemented, such hesitation has proved warranted. A growing body of evidence indicates that body cameras alone are not sufficient to create sustainable change. Among other problems, a lack of transparency and of intra-departmental accountability creates massive barriers for citizens seeking justice.
A story published on Thursday in The Washington Post describes just how difficult it can be to get access to body camera footage.
Nationwide, police have shot and killed more than 750 people since January, according to a Washington Post database tracking every fatal shooting. Of those, The Post has found 49 incidents captured by body camera, or about 6 percent.
Just 21 of those videos—less than half—have been publicly released. And in several of those cases, the footage […] was severely cut or otherwise edited.
Here's just one story. In January, police responded to a domestic argument at the Burlington, Iowa, home of Autumn and Gabriel Steele. Despite the fact that neither Autumn nor Gabriel seemed to be posing any type of physical threat, an officer "pulled out his gun and then—frightened by the family dog—opened fire, killing Autumn with a bullet to her chest." See more below the fold.
Burlington police had recently begun using body cameras, after promising increased transparency to the city. And sure enough, 28 minutes of body camera footage exists from that night. But Autumn's family has had no luck in getting access to the footage. State investigators released 12 seconds of the footage, but her family has been blocked from seeing anything more.
Local police have decided that the videos are "confidential" and that Autumn's death was "reasonable, given the dog 'attacked.'" And, according to the Post, even the Mayor of Burlington isn't happy about this.
“What point is there of even doing this if they are going to be treated this way? Why even spend the money on these cameras?” said Burlington Mayor Shane McCampbell, who has called on police to release video of the Steele shooting.
If the videos “are going to be a secret, no one is being held accountable,” McCampbell said. “And that was the point.”
But, it the pattern holds true, the footage isn't exactly secret after all. In fact, the footage is being viewed—but only by those that want involved police to avoid charges. The Post found that "virtually all of the … departments involved in [on-duty] shootings [while wearing a body camera] have permitted their officers to view the videos before giving statements to investigators."
And the problem with body cameras isn't just getting access to the footage. It's getting cops to turn the cameras on at all. The Post notes that "even when a camera is present, things can go wrong. The cameras typically attach to an officer’s lapel or eyeglasses, and they can fall off during struggles or be angled away from the action. And police acknowledge that one of their biggest challenges is getting officers to turn the cameras on."
This is unacceptable.
Police departments cannot have the power to regulate access to body camera footage. This is non-negotiable.
There is inherent logical failure in the idea of us allowing the police to govern the police. An outside and wholly separate body appointed by the state should be assigned the power of maintaining, examining, and releasing footage. And police should be required to release footage of interactions with citizens. This is the only way body cameras work and are effective.
Ultimately, body cameras aren't helpful for citizens without explicit rules regarding accessibility, a second party to maintain transparency, and clear guidelines – and punishments – regarding operational use. Even then, other policies must be implemented to ensure true reform.
