The Case Of Michael Brown

The social media and the public might want police body cam footage release but sometimes it might be to graphic or controversial. Police body cameras have been a topic since the incident with Michael Brown in august of 2014. Police shot and killed an unarmed individual in ferguson, MO, leading to many people wanting cameras on police. Whether the cameras are a good idea or not this paper will explore the facts and sides of police body cameras. Overall body cameras should be required Because they can save the lives of the innocent, keep innocent people from going to jail, and can help a case as more evidence.

Police Brutality is a big issue in America. There has been many cases in which the Police Officer is put into question. Body Cameras have already been used in other states and it has proven that it reduces Police Brutality. On October 18, Corey Jones a musician was killed by a Palm Beach Garden’s Officer. Corey Jones was having trouble with his car so, he called his brother to come pick him up. The Police Officer didn’t have a body camera nor a police dashboard camera in his vehicle. He was was wearing a baseball cap, T-shirt, and jeans. He was driving in an unmarked 15-passenger van. There were no witnesses at the scene just the Police Officer and Corey Jones.The use of body cameras may invade the public or police privacy, but it helps more in cases because it provides evidence, reveals officers’ behavior, and protects the public as well as officers.

Across the country a growing number of legislative departments have been debating about the pros and cons of police body cameras. This paper will further explore benefits, as well as the downfalls of using such devices. This paper will also look at specific cases and examine whether or not body cameras were helpful in various situations. It will examine if they were a deterrent in cases dealing with police brutality and domestic violence. It also looks at how they could be misused and assisting some officers in covering up their corrupt behavior.

Just this April, the city’s Police Accountability Task Force found that the Chicago Police Department has “no regard for the sanctity of life when it comes to people of color.” Chicago’s population is 31.7% white, 32.9% Black, 28.9% Latino, and 5.5% Asian. However, the Task Force reported that the city’s police officers shoot Black residents at significantly disproportionate rates. Between 2008 and 2015, of all people injured or killed in police-related shootings, 74% were Black, 14% were Hispanic, 8% were white and less than 1% were Asian. The report found almost identical numbers when it came to statistics regarding the use of Tasers. The report also analyzed all people stopped by police during the summer of 2014 and found they were 72% Black,

Moreover, to stop the crime and police brutality, body cameras would not be a bad idea if they were to be taken a step forward. Nancy La Vigne writer of “Body Cameras for Police Could Be One Smart Step” talks about supervisors monitoring the cameras in case an altercation were to happen (6). Nancy also talks about body cameras invading constitutional rights of the citizens. Vigne writes, “Body cameras will capture not just an officers actions, but also those of the citizens with whom they interact – or even individuals walking by or in the background” (Vigne). Nancy’s point is that with the body cameras and civilians being recorded, should the citizens know they are being recorded. Another solution for the body cameras to be able to work would be for the cops to have no access to the cameras.

On August 14, 2014, the infamous case of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, took place. A police officer shot an unarmed black teenager after an incident which was clouded in unclear details. At first, no one really knew whether the officer had been in the right to shoot Brown, or what the circumstances were for either side of the incident. However, eventually, the details started to not matter. The events around Michael Brown’s case became the spark that ignited a nationwide movement to fight against police brutality towards minorities, specifically African Americans. Protesters of police violence toward minorities created a phrase that was used all over the country after Brown’s death: “hands up, don’t shoot”. Many have used the events behind Brown’s death as a springboard to consider what makes a criminal. One side of the issue claims that race directly affects criminality, while others believe class to be the cause of criminality.

Police brutality is a big problem, not only in the USA, but also around the world. There have been lots of effort to change this, from police departments to governments, to communities. One such effort has been the addition of body-worn cameras to the uniforms of police officers, in order to enforce accountability. This makes it so that, if there were a controversial case questioning whether the force displayed by an officer was warranted or not, there would be a video of the encounter, which is often more reliable evidence than the word of an officer or civilian. Despite the cost, mandating body-worn cameras for on-duty officers would benefit everyone involved, since there would be far less room for false or inaccurate claims made by

Michael Brown, an unarmed black male was shot and killed by white police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014. According to a report issued by the Department of Justice, Shortly before the shooting, Brown stole several packages of cigars with his friend Dorian Johnson, from a nearby convenience store and shoved the store clerk who tried to stop him. Police officer Wilson had been notified by radio of the robbery and given descriptions of the two suspects. Brown, eighteen at the time, and his friend were walking down the middle of a city street when Officer Wilson arrived on the scene and stopped them. He ordered the pair to walk on the sidewalk, but the two refused to do so. Though details of the events that followed

With so many incidents occurring between law enforcement and civilians, it’s about time we have our officers wear body cameras. Law enforcement wants to use body cameras, many politicians are in favor for them, Civil-rights groups are advocating them, and communities that already have a strong police presence in their neighborhoods are requesting that the police get cameras now. With the uproar of law enforcement and the death of many black American’s, body cameras can be very useful. There is always that missing link when trying to put these horrible moments back together. Far too many times we end up with the suspect dead and only get one side of the story. With the use of body cameras, we can now get more insight on the events that happen (Boyd, 2015).

This statement emphasizes that lack of respect police officers have towards the poor blacks and hispanics. They feel that people within a poor community are powerless when something bad happens. This is one of many reasons why police officers should wear body cameras. Police officers wearing body cameras will add one more piece to the puzzle that can help the community start healing the lack of trust in the law. Due to the police officer wrongfully killing.  Because the incident will be caught on the body camera than it is possible that the police officer will be caught and justice will be served. The judge will have no choose not to convict because the incident is on camera. Wearing body cameras can eventually help the affect on how the police officers acts. Kelly states that “Police responses has included confiscation of cell phones or cameras, coerced destruction of images, and arrest or threat of arrest, often in direct contravention of law, departmental policies, or judicial order” (7). Police officers have become angry at the fact that they have to wear body cameras because they know that some of their actions are

As a further result of the strained relationship between law enforcement and the general population debate about the potential use of police worn body camera’s erupted not only in the United States but across the globe including

Police are being accused of murder, and abusing powers by the public, what if there was a way to prove their innocence or prove that they are guilty of murder. What are body cameras? Body cameras are cameras placed on an officer's body, that captures footage of what the officer is seeing. Should all police officers be outfitted with body cameras, many people think that they should, but many people think that there should be no body cameras at all on officers, because they claim them to be a privacy issue. Body cameras may be a privacy issue, but the benefits of body cameras outway the cons of body cameras, and here is why. Body cameras should be outfitted by all police officers because they help police and citizens behave better, they help

Police brutality is a huge problem in America nowadays. There have been many cases where police officers abused their positions. In 2014 was a case about Michael Browns an African-American citizen that was killed by a police officer in Ferguson. In this case there were a lot of witnesses due to the lack of good evidence and trustful testimonies. This wouldn’t happen if the police officer had had a body camera. Police stations in all the states should required officers to wear body cameras to prevent injustices. Americans overwhelming support (92%) requiring police officers wear body cameras that would record video of their interactions. Moreover fully 6 in 10 “strongly support” such proposal (Ekins).

Since the death of Michael brown; an unarmed teenager who was fatally shot by a Police Officer. Tensions between Officers and Civilians ascended; the story that the officer made did not make sense to some. There was no hardcore proof of what led up to the death of Michael Brown. Which influenced the grand jury to not indict Officer Darren Wilson under the fact of “provably wrong , inconsistent statements given by witnesses” (IBTimes, Varandani). Bad Police Officers have been getting away with murder for years. They know how to cover up evidence and they know how to make up stories. Both in which is enough to keep them out of jail because lack of cold hard evidence. Which leads to the debate if Police officers should wear body cameras. Even though Many will argue that body cameras are too expensive and may make people uncomfortable. I believe that Police need to wear them. Because with actual video footage taken by the body camera it can be tremendous help in serving justice.

Violent brutality from police towards citizens has been going on for a long period of time. Many of these altercations are recorded onto phones of bystanders, yet not all videos recorded by bystanders show the full account from the police's attempts to make an arrest and the circumstances which caused or lead up to the death of the victim. Preventing false accusations, providing valuable evidence and victims statements, this signifies that this evidence is immensely crucial to the process of doing an investigation during a criminal act or appropriately incriminating people lives and jobs. False accusations can cause people to be incarcerated and police officers to lose their job for something that wasn’t their fault. Body cameras provide evidence so that crime's like these don’t happen as often as they do. Additionally, Police officers wearing their body cams hold them accountable of their inappropriate actions, or the appropriate protocols they used, which they are presumed to learn in training. This demonstrates why body cameras are essential to ongoing and active investigations and police arrest. Plus help build better trust between the police/law enforcement with their