Police officers are people, and people make mistakes. No one should expect anyone — including the police — to be perfect. Most of the time, force used by police is justified and necessary. However, lapses in judgement can — and do — lead to injustice, and sometimes tragedy. The incident in Ferguson, Missouri is only the most recent example in a long line of examples of police brutality. Although these are rare occurrences, they happen regularly enough for us to change something.
I propose that all police encounters be recorded; and that police be responsible for recording. With today’s technological capabilities, it is perfectly feasible to implement such a plan of action.
A few simple principles can serve as guidelines for policy: a police officer who initiates an encounter with a civilian that could result in a summons or an arrest should be recording the encounter. Citizens — both active participants in an encounter and onlookers — should have the right to record an encounter with the police, with or without police consent.
Police will be protected from false accusations of misconduct. Such false accusations should be punishable by law. Recording an encounter will provide evidence to the legal system to prosecute the accuser.
Truthful accusations of misconduct will also be evidenced by a recording. To provide a familiar example: what would have happened if the encounter between the Los Angeles police and Rodney King were NOT filmed? It is extremely likely that his complaints of brutality would have fallen on deaf ears, and no one would ever have heard his name or his story.
The use of power should be transparent. The person wielding power should be accountable. When one person or entity holds power over another, that power should be checked and balanced. This is an ideal on which our nation was formed, and should be applied to any situation in which power may be abused.
John Hopkins
Village Road West, West Windsor
