Too bad this can’t be made a national requirement for all police, sheriffs, etc. At least the push is from a former cop.
N.Y. Senator Pushes For Cameras On Cop Handguns
In a flash, a police officer draws a handgun from its holster. Less than two seconds later, a red laser and bright light shine at whatever is in the gun barrel’s path while a mini-camera records it all.
That’s how mini-cams on police handguns would work under a proposal gaining support in New York, which would be the first state in the nation to require the technology. State police were briefed on the technology and are reviewing it for a possible pilot program, said Michael Balboni, the state’s deputy secretary for public safety.
The device could create a critical visual and audio record of police shootings for use in court, said state Sen. Eric Adams, a Brooklyn Democrat and former police officer. He is drumming up support for testing the cameras with the state police SWAT squad.
Adams said recordings from the $695 cameras couldn’t be altered by a police officer and would quell many questions after controversial police shootings, like the deaths in New York City of Amadou Diallo in 1999 and Sean Bell in 2006.
Wanna bet cops will come up with a simple way to block the lens. Say a dab of mud.
I’m not in the “cops are evil” fan club that the rest of you guys are in, but this is great idea.
I’ve always been of the opinion that those cameras that record cops when they give tickets is a good thing because cops are in the unique position to abuse the authority they have been entrusted and this is a logical next step.
The cops will just do what they have always done. Use a gun they pulled off a perp in the past for the shooting.
This is a great idea, what with the camera light and all.
Most police shootings take place at night and back in the olden days, the bad guys used to have to aim for your flashlight. Unlike TV cops, if you were smart, you’d hold the flashlight as far away from your body as possible.
Now they can just aim for the camera light! I’m sure this will lead to many fewer police shootings.
Well… less shooting of bad guys, anyway.
Cops make up for it by beating people senseless with their flashlight. The blunt instrument is still the most effective to conceal abuse.
Cops don’t like being held accountable so I will predict that this idea will go nowhere.
Why all the hate for police? I sure hope that when any of you need help, are being robbed, carjacked, whatever; you *don’t* call the cops. I have a feeling, however, that the first thing you’ll do is cry your eyes out and crawl on your knees to beg for help from the police. Hypocrites.
How Will Bad Cops Get Away With Shooting Innocent, Unarmed People If Their Guns Record Shootings?=======The same way they do now when full videos of the scene are taken from overhead helicopters. “The shooting was proper and within department guidelines. You have to understand how scary it is to be a cop and it is justified to shoot first and establish probable cause later.”
#7–Michael==do you like pictures of Gladiators?
#7 – calling the cops is too late. Carry concealed, fight back.
The light should be infrared with a night vision camera, this would make it invisible to the naked eye. Having the camera mounted on the front seems like it would really unbalance the camera, I would think it would be less obtrusive if it were smaller and mounted on the side?
There are crooked police and there are good police, the only ones who don’t want more oversight are the crooked ones.
A camera on the end of the gun is going to show the last few seconds of “the action”, from a very restricted viewpoint.
An objective judgement of the situation from that may be impossible.
But the folks who really will push this are sufficiently anti-Police to want to crucify Law Enforcement Officers anyway.
Meantime, there will be an effort to exempt the Police, but require it on all new firearms sold to others. (See “MicroStamping”, “Trigger Locks”, etc.)
Not a good idea at all….
Looks like it will make guns less effective, but of course that isn’t a consideration for people that don’t want them to have guns to begin with.
This is also a problem with trigger locks, which is why police guns are always exempt from that rule, even though cops are the most likely to be shot with their own gun.
#13–Mike==please explain your post? How will the camera make guns less effective?
After that, is gun effectiveness our goal in law enforcement==or is it effective law enforcement/community trust and so forth?
I would think adding a camera and light to a gun is a significant weight that makes the gun harder to use.
MikeN –
I have a feeling this version is a prototype for testing purposes. The final product would most likely be smaller, akin to the laser “target dot” devices available for handguns now. I think it would just take a little extra time at the range, and a new holster to accommodate it.
I actually think it’s a good idea in theory. However, like someone stated before, the video recorded will only present a *very* short portion of an event. It lacks any context. But hey – got to start somewhere I suppose. Just look how much the dashboard camera has helped both the police and the public. Same idea I think.
A camera on a dashboard or even on a uniform is quite different from a camera on a gun. The laser dot adds functionality to the gun, while the camera is adding nothing.
#2 – I’m not in the “cops are evil” fan club that the rest of you guys are in, but this is great idea.
Neither are the people you think are in that almost non-existent fan club. But as you know, any authority left unchecked will eventually be rife with corruption… and that is the direction we appear to be going so obviously the “more willing to rock the boat” crowd is being vocal about it.
I still think most cops do their job well, but if they are unwilling to police themselves, it’s our responsibility, in fact, our right to do it for them.
#7 – Why all the hate for police?
Rampant abuse of authority? Wrongful deaths by guns and tasers? General assholery on the part of many cops?
My father, the retired cop, agrees with me.
I sure hope that when any of you need help, are being robbed, carjacked, whatever; you *don’t* call the cops.
Of course we call the cops. Insurance companies require police reports. But we aren’t calling them to actually catch criminals or anything.
I have a feeling, however, that the first thing you’ll do is cry your eyes out and crawl on your knees to beg for help from the police. Hypocrites.
Nice strawman. Of course, you are just full of shit like all the other authority worshipping jackboots.
This can’t be allowed to happen. Think of all the poor civil rights and personal injury lawyers that won’t be able to feed their children when there is video of the guy pulling either a gun or what looks like a gun on the cops.
Think of the children damn-it.
While I don’t have 100% trust in all police I have less trust in criminals and that is exactly who gets shot at by police 99.999999% of the time.
#19 – “Rampant abuse of authority? Wrongful deaths by guns and tasers? General assholery on the part of many cops?”
Have any sources you wish to cite on this? It’s just talking points unless you can support it. And personal opinions (re: general assholery) don’t count.
12 Stu. I would guess that the camera begins recording soon after leaving the vertical position.
RBG
#21 – Do you even read this blog? Do your own homework. Not a week goes by where we don’t have… fuck, not a week goes by where CNN doesn’t have… another report about cops crossing the line. If you claim to not know anything about that you are either dumb or a liar. But I will start you off…
http://www.google.com
As for sources to cite… I didn’t publish my first hand experiences, so no… you’ll just have to ignore the truth and wallow in the delusion that you are a good citizen.
#23 –
If you wish to spout irrational nonsense you won’t be listened to. If you can support your statements that’s fine – people will be much more likely to listen to you if you can cite facts not supposition.
#24: Do a search on DU for all the articles we’ve posted on shootings, taser deaths and so on.
And please reread the headline I wrote. Notice the phrase, “bad cops?” Doesn’t that imply not all?
So what is going to happen when the cop the the camera see things differently? This will happen every time.
What about manipulating the camera output to raise the ISO way higher than cop eye ISO?
I’m not a big fan of the cops, but this is a BAD idea.
#23–OFTLO–I feel for it. Clicked on the google link, and got Google. Cracks me up.
#24–Michael. What OFTLO posts is “common sense” and as he stated, there are many shootings, tasering, and other authority abuses that providing cites would be the work assigned only to a dithering fool.
Along those lines, where are your cites for what you posted at #7. I don’t see ANY hate posted here against the police. I do see posts wishing “bad” cops got more training, or were weeded out in the selection process, or get their assess weeded out after committing felonies against those they are charged to protect.
You might want to use the link at #23 and google “good cop” then “bad cop” and spot the difference.
#24 – I’m sad. I was so depending on your respect to validate me.
#27 – #23–OFTLO–I feel for it. Clicked on the google link, and got Google. Cracks me up.
Sorry about that…
Hey, at least it wasn’t Mustard’s link that led to sex toys.
Funny – I did a Google search for “wrongful taser death” and get thousands of links to news stories with the same subject: Multimillion dollar lawsuits dismissed in cases of alleged wrongful deaths by taser. Cases were dismissed because the evidence was wrong. Thanks for the tip!
Fighter pilots have had gun cameras for a long time, which allowed them to confirm the validity (or maybe not) of their ‘kills’. Isn’t this just a continuation of that concept?
That said, it looks kinda clumsy though on a little handgun…probably needs to become even smaller to become actually useful.