09-01-2014, 01:10 PM
More from Ferguson...
This is good news, IMO -- the Ferguson PD is now joining other departments across the country in the use of body cams. I love 'em (dash cams, too).
![[Image: 1409549598000-AP-Police-Shooting-Missouri-Rally.jpg]](http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/2e3ff3ccce3846f4ff23bffa9eeaee24afbb3567/c=0-0-2126-1598&r=490x368/local/-/media/USATODAY/USATODAY/2014/09/01/1409549598000-AP-Police-Shooting-Missouri-Rally.jpg)
The body cams were donated after the shooting of Michael Brown and some of the officers wore them while policing the recent protests. That won't help shed any light on the shooting incident of course, but it may help support or quash a law-suit claiming police brutality and false arrests at the protests.
And, the cam footage is really helpful in all investigations -- great evidence. Personally, I think they're probably a good deterrent for suspects who might otherwise assault cops and decide to stop short when they note the cams. Likewise, if a cop is getting riled, the body cam could keep him from going too far with a suspect. Even the ACLU -- which opposes other types of surveillance -- supports the use of police body cams.
On a separate note: two web pages raising money to back Officer Wilson suddenly stopped taking donations without any explanation over the weekend, the Los Angeles Times reports. The pages, on the crowd-source fundraising site GoFundMe, had raised a total of $433,000, the newspaper says.
UPDATE: In a Facebook post, the Support Darren Wilson confirmed that their (GoFundMe) online fundraiser had ended but vowed to continue raising money for the St. Louis County cop. According to the page's moderators, the decision to end the fundraiser was "made by those closest to Officer Darren Wilson looking out for his best interest." The group said that any donations that were already made would go directly to Wilson.
Ref:
www.cbsnews.com/news/ferguson-missouri-cops-start-wearing-body-cameras-report/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/31...45858.html
This is good news, IMO -- the Ferguson PD is now joining other departments across the country in the use of body cams. I love 'em (dash cams, too).
The body cams were donated after the shooting of Michael Brown and some of the officers wore them while policing the recent protests. That won't help shed any light on the shooting incident of course, but it may help support or quash a law-suit claiming police brutality and false arrests at the protests.
And, the cam footage is really helpful in all investigations -- great evidence. Personally, I think they're probably a good deterrent for suspects who might otherwise assault cops and decide to stop short when they note the cams. Likewise, if a cop is getting riled, the body cam could keep him from going too far with a suspect. Even the ACLU -- which opposes other types of surveillance -- supports the use of police body cams.
On a separate note: two web pages raising money to back Officer Wilson suddenly stopped taking donations without any explanation over the weekend, the Los Angeles Times reports. The pages, on the crowd-source fundraising site GoFundMe, had raised a total of $433,000, the newspaper says.
UPDATE: In a Facebook post, the Support Darren Wilson confirmed that their (GoFundMe) online fundraiser had ended but vowed to continue raising money for the St. Louis County cop. According to the page's moderators, the decision to end the fundraiser was "made by those closest to Officer Darren Wilson looking out for his best interest." The group said that any donations that were already made would go directly to Wilson.
Ref:
www.cbsnews.com/news/ferguson-missouri-cops-start-wearing-body-cameras-report/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/31...45858.html