Federal lawsuit: IMPD vs. camera guy

[phylodog]

No I wouldn't. Because I wouldn't act in a way that embarrassed me or was out of line. I use my brain before I react in most cases. I've been hit in the face before and I didn't go all Jackie chan on the people.

I'm thankful that there are people like you around but I ain't one of em. If I get smacked in the mouth I'll quickly respond.

 

[88GT]

You missed his whole point. What if someone walked up and smacked your mother and you responded in kind, but the only video shows you yelling and beating the crap out of that guy and not what started it.

And that has what to do with LE taking phones, destroying cameras, or deleting videos?

 

[VUPDblue]

A cops word in court should never be worth more than someone else's.

So when the cop sees some dude commit a crime and that cop then locks up said offender, come court time what then? A stalemate?

 

[Trigger Time]

You missed his whole point. What if someone walked up and smacked your mother and you responded in kind, but the only video shows you yelling and beating the crap out of that guy and not what started it.

Ok I see the point. But that's why we have jury trials. Just the 'Facts' right! What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
if someone wants to beat the crap out of my mother I wouldn't stop them. Wouldn't help them but wouldn't stop them either.

 

[Trigger Time]

So when the cop sees some dude commit a crime and that cop then locks up said offender, come court time what then? A stalemate?

A jury. That's our legal system. A cops testimony will NEVER help a defendant In court. That's the way the system is set up. But it can sure **** you over! That is not right

 

[Trigger Time]

A jury. That's our legal system. A cops testimony will NEVER help a defendant In court. That's the way the system is set up. But it can sure **** you over! That is not right

A officer is biased towards his brothers in arms. And I don't blame them. But that doesn't mean its right. But it exists so how do we prevent it from affecting testimony?

 

[Lucas156]

Possible to have your videos automatically uploaded somewhere so even if they destroy your phone you still have the video?

 

[IndyDave1776]

No I wouldn't. Because I wouldn't act in a way that embarrassed me or was out of line. I use my brain before I react in most cases. I've been hit in the face before and I didn't go all Jackie chan on the people.
I don't know anything about this case but I don't like the idea of cops not wanting to be filmed while doing their jobs. Or prohibiting someone's rights to do so.
I'm glad some of the bad apples are being caught by video evidence lying about what really happened. A cops word in court should never be worth more than someone else's.

I have to take Phylodog's point and run with it. Let's say that the other person instigates the confrontation with an attempt to choke the officer (keeping in mind that hands on throat is a deadly force situation). The officer responds with a good swing right into the attacker's jaw. The film starts at the point that the attacker and fist are both moving away from the officer and it is made to look like the officer simply walked up to the man and slugged him for the sheer hell of it. Complete evidence is a good thing. With cherry picking, your mileage may vary (a lot) where the truth is concerned.

 

[IndyDave1776]

So when the cop sees some dude commit a crime and that cop then locks up said offender, come court time what then? A stalemate?

I am going to say that additional evidence would be nice. I would be happy to take your word for it, but then again, you haven't dealt with some of the police that I have.

 

[Bunnykid68]

And that has what to do with LE taking phones, destroying cameras, or deleting videos?

That wasn't where I was at in the conversation. I was just responding to that post. Anyone that knows me knows my thoughts about LEO. Phylo gave his opinion, didnt defend bad cops doing bad things. He brought up a relevant point which was mainly ignored. Him, Frank, Denny, VUPD could give two if you video tape them, but damnit record the whole thing is what they are saying.

 

[Tanfodude]

Well, we used to be told to take the cell phones if someone filmed us wrestling with a resister so a warrant could be secured and the video pulled as evidence for the resist charge. Testimony is one thing, video is another, and especially since juries tend to be visual that's a big help in court. In the next to last in-service they told us to stop unless there was some other reason to do so, so I guess that was preemptive due to this law suit.

I'm not opposed to body cameras. I used to audio record all of my interactions with citizens and one particular supervisor. It helped me quite a bit in a grand jury, during a false allegation, and also shut down a lawsuit before it got off the ground. The problem becomes one of cost, like anything else. Sure cameras aren't that expensive, but think of how much data has to be stored, indexed, retrieved for court of FOIA requests, etc. I just want to make sure it's easy to turn on and off and I know which one its on. Nobody wants to see the results of Taco Tuesday...

Wouldn't have that rang a bell to those instructed that it's a violation to confiscate an item from a bystander that's not involve in the scuffle? Whoever gave those instructions didn't have a discussion with the higher ups on how that would escalate or consider that such actions from LEO can change a person's life. Would a better approach will be to ask for a copy of the video since that person's intent in taking the video is for evidence in the first place anyways. Unless the LEO were on the wrong, then that's a different story.

As for video recordings/body cameras, any hard evidence is very crucial to any cases, then the cost would be justifiable. It's a lot better than wasting the tax money for settlements or prolonging a trial because of insufficient evidence.

 

[Bunnykid68]

Ok I see the point. But that's why we have jury trials. Just the 'Facts' right! What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
if someone wants to beat the crap out of my mother I wouldn't stop them. Wouldn't help them but wouldn't stop them either.

But dont show us half of the video showing your mother getting her ass handed to her when she just got done sticking a pencil in the cops right arm.

 

[thebishopp]

I don't disagree with their use but I also don't see the mayor or council buying them. They've got much more important things to worry about like bicycle lanes, cricket fields and an unusable regional operations center.

Not many but they are becoming more popular. Evansville just furnished their officers with body cams and good ones too.

 

[thebishopp]

Possible to have your videos automatically uploaded somewhere so even if they destroy your phone you still have the video?

There are a couple programs which do this for smart phones. I think bamuser and qik video are two of them.

 

[SirRealism]

Keep in mind that several of the video tools allow you to erase the online footage from the phone. That makes the online footage nearly as vulnerable as if it were sitting on your phone. That's how qik works.

 

[Rookie]

I'm thankful that there are people like you around but I ain't one of em. If I get smacked in the mouth I'll quickly respond with, "you hit like a girl".

Hehe

 

[jbombelli]

Ok I see the point. But that's why we have jury trials. Just the 'Facts' right! What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
if someone wants to beat the crap out of my mother I wouldn't stop them. Wouldn't help them but wouldn't stop them either.

Really?

You would just stand by and watch some guy beat the **** out of your mother and do nothing to stop them?

I can't even put into words the loathing and disgust I feel toward people like you.

 

[thebishopp]

Keep in mind that several of the video tools allow you to erase the online footage from the phone. That makes the online footage nearly as vulnerable as if it were sitting on your phone. That's how qik works.

Didn't know that. Looks like Qik is shutting down in April as well.

 

[Frank_N_Stein]

A officer is biased towards his brothers in arms. And I don't blame them. But that doesn't mean its right. But it exists so how do we prevent it from affecting testimony?

You need to spend some time in court watching trials. You have no idea what goes on.

 

[Trigger Time]

Really?

You would just stand by and watch some guy beat the **** out of your mother and do nothing to stop them?

I can't even put into words the loathing and disgust I feel toward people like you.

Get off your soap box. You have no idea