Seattle cops may start wearing cameras

foody said on June 30, 2010 at 8:19 PM

This is great. I am looking forward to Harrell's meeting next week where we can see the demonstrations. i think it is a great ideaand hope that council can find the money to at least start a pilot project while hiring 20 officers as well. Great work Bruce!

kyokushin said on June 30, 2010 at 6:06 PM

$900 per unit? TOO EXPENSIVE!!!!!!!

fastest said on June 30, 2010 at 4:05 PM

Aswome!! It leaves out any doubt as to weather police used necessary force ..I hate to say it but Humans are Humans no matter how much training they have had if not supervised properley then it leads to police mob mentality.and as every one witnessed a police officer used fist to another citizens face and where is that tought in the academy training..Use of stun guns. thats going to have to be addressed somewhere in Court decisions because use of stun guns is way out control..The arguement that who goes to work everyday to be treated life and death situations , i will argue that not every one can be Law enforcement..Because the work intels some one who can work in high stress and in policey of Constitutional limitations of what they can do..Violation of individuals rights is on going through out the U.S.I can recall my time in LEO Academy when i Police Officer was sitting in the wintness stand and the question was asked to him do you ever lie and he responded saying."NEVER"...

silverton said on June 30, 2010 at 3:35 PM

As much as I think the police are out of control across the country, this is a waste of money. The police forces know who the rouge cops are. It is the police unions that protect the nut jobs on the forces. Even the good cops have to swear an oath to put in cash if needed to help a rouge cop defend themselves in court. The system has to be fixed from the inside. Sadly, insurance carriers who insure the cities around the country will want these in order to cut down on lawsuit payouts. In the end, it is always about the money. Rewrite contracts for officers and tell them that if they make trouble or are too stressed out, they will be weeded out of the force.

kyokushin said on June 30, 2010 at 3:26 PM

Waste of money! Those cameras are way too expensive! You can buy a good one at a local sporting goods store less than a half price!

jakedog said on June 30, 2010 at 1:30 PM

Patrol car cameras have been a godsend for law enforcement. You can't dispute what's on the cameras. If the officer in Seattle that WAS FORCED to hit the girl had a camera on, with sound hopefully, it would have been a whole new story. People would see what cops are up against. Let the cameras roll and keep a copy for our buddies at the ACLU!

cethe said on June 30, 2010 at 1:10 PM

interesting...some potentials for abuse for sure. but also some potential for curbing disputs. I noticed another article (maybe the times?) talking about the city banning private citizens from recording police...IMO, both or none. if you are recording me, i should be able to record you.

cyrixlord said on June 30, 2010 at 12:22 PM

freedomfrank: You do have valid points. I'm just saying that if the public can have cameras focused on the polices every move I think the police can have cameras too.

freedomfrank said on June 30, 2010 at 12:06 PM

cyrixlord ,,,The police are trained to deal with it, if they can't handle it they should work security at Walmart. More video cameras,,, oh goodie, Big Brother is Watching. Say goodbye to your privacy people, pretty soon we'll have robotic police roaming the streets recording our every move in the name of "public safety" To quote Mr. Benjamin Franklin "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Red light cameras, speeding cameras, special drug watching cameras, now cop cams to record your every move. Before you say it,,,,, yada yada yada,,,, if you don't have anything to hide why are you afraid? I'm afraid because I can see there will be no end to the invasion of privacy by OUR government.

cyrixlord said on June 30, 2010 at 11:13 AM

This is a great way for the public to see what type of idiots the police have to deal with on a daily basis and the tolerance and restraint the police generally excersise in dealing with them. This video system can also show past officer conduct which can then be reviewed from their video history to determine if that officer has a history of making 'racist' or other poor judgements when they start applying the smackdown on some beligerent person in a high profile incident. If only the rest of the public were put up to the same scrutiny.