Did the
ball cross the plane? Did the shooter
have his foot on the 3 point arc? Was it
a homerun or a double? Let’s go to the
video. At least, that’s how it works in the
arena of professional sports. And we
justify the effort it takes to catalogue every minute detail because there’s so much at stake! A touchdown, a point, a run—in the end,
affect the outcome of the match, and the fate of our team.
So why not
devote the same effort to cataloging your encounters with the police? Are your civil liberties less valuable than a
three-pointer?
In Rialto,
California (a city about 1/6 the size of Baltimore), the
police department has begun experimenting with cameras attached to the
glasses, cap, or collar of individual police officers. The cameras are “activated” during any
interaction with citizens. After a year,
the experiment showed that the incident of citizen complaints of police
misconduct decreased by 88%, and the incident of police using “force” on
citizens decreased by 60%. The
conclusion—police and citizens alike act differently when they know their
actions are being recorded.
Many police
officers are uncomfortable
being recorded. Many will bully
onlookers into shutting off cameras to prevent accounts of police misconduct
from being memorialized. Just look on YouTube.
The reality
is that many criminal cases come down to a “he said, she said” between the
arresting officer and the accused citizen.
Sadly, the credibility of a sworn police officer often trumps the
credibility of someone accused of a crime by default. (“He told me I could search the car.” “No, I
didn’t.”) But when there’s a recording
of the interaction—the game changes.
In
Maryland, it is perfectly legal to take audio or video recordings of police interactions
with citizens. You may not interfere
with the police (“can you move over here to get in the light?”), but you may
(and should) document your interactions with them as often and as thoroughly as
possible. So next time you’re pulled
over, just flick your phone over to “voice record” and leave it on the
dashboard. Or if your friend is being
accosted by the police, record it. Worst
case scenario, you delete the file. Best
case, you have solid evidence of constitutional violations that prevent you or
your friend from being wrongly convicted.
