Lefty Lawyers do 180 on police body cams

Lawyers ask judge to stop NYPD rollout of body cameras




The lawyers who sued New York City to force reforms in stop and frisk practices have asked the federal judge overseeing that case to halt the NYPD’s planned rollout of body-worn cameras until changes are made in the way they are used.

In a letter filed late Wednesday with Manhattan U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres, the lawyers said the current plan should be amended to prohibit privacy violations by barring police from running recordings through facial recognition software or databases for investigations.

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They also told the judge the NYPD plan gives officers too much freedom in deciding what encounters they have to record and at what point they tell civilians they are being recorded, and improperly allows officers access to the recordings when preparing their reports.

The NYPD was first ordered to run a pilot program using body-worn cameras as part of the federal court ruling on stop-and-frisk in 2013 which Torres now oversees. The NYPD plans to start the program next week.

The lawyers complained that the program was intended to provide deterrence and protection against violations of citizens rights by cops, and is being expanded as a tool to provide evidence for criminal prosecutions.

http://www.newsday.com/news/new-yor...-stop-nypd-rollout-of-body-cameras-1.13494795

I think that the same liberal lawyers who introduced body cams aren't liking the unintended consequences-which may include exonerating police from brutality claims and increasing convictions.

 

They only think with their tear ducts.

 

As a conservative, don't you have to ask yourself how much big government surveillance state is too much?

 

I certainly do-and I seem to recall lefties pushing for these cameras, as a way to prove police misconduct.

What happens when it turns out the police generally do a great job, and perhaps our criminal class lies? (shocking as it may seem to you)

I want an open society, cameras on police officers are a good thing.

 

And their wallets.

This could be dangerous to their narrative.

 

I can't figure this one out, they already have that stuff in their cars, what is the issue with it being on their body cams? Am I missing something? This doesn't let them come in your house or car any easier, and there is no expectation of privacy in public spaces.

IMO, yes, cops should wear body cams, and yes, they should be able to run face recognition and databases on them. They are perfectly capable of f-ing you over right now with what they already have, body cams won't make it worse. What it will do is allow different angles, which is a great thing, single angle cameras are incredibly deceptive in lots of ways that can add prejudice. Also, they won't be able to doctor the film as easily out of two cameras... which they absolutely do as I've personally been the victim of that.

 

Body cams are obviously a slippery slope.

But, the expectation must always be that dirty cops are going to find a sinister use for them.

 

And yet these tricky lefty lawyers were arguing for them until they started seeing the results.

 

I have no problem with cops wearing body cams. They have been shown to encourage better behavior all around. The problem is with mass facial recognition of bystanders. Going outside your house should not be an invitation to cyberstalking, and everybody knows all that info is going right to the NSA, other Intel agencies, and hackers.

 

of course they they did, you didn't actually think liberals wanted to present a problem and then solve it did you?

 

OK that's a fair point. Not sure if it changes my opinion, but hadn't thought of that angle, thanks. But can't they do the same thing now with car cameras that they can just rotate around?

 

I don't know the policies on that. I think facial recognition using those cams should be restricted as well (at least restricted to the people the cop is actually interacting with or investigating). But at least there is a bit more limitation on where a car cam can surveil. With a body cam, that surveillance extends into the grocery store, your church, etc. The conservatism I grew up with would defend what little 4th Amendment we have left. But George W Bush and after, conservatism has gone in a "we love Big Brother" direction.

 

Calling all lefies...

 

Can't believe I missed this.

Regardless, Keep the Cams, & expand the program.

I detest the lot, but since we're sphincter deep in a time where fact verification is secondary to (in public opinion, & the Liberal MSM world view) immediately recorded "evidence", let the 5-O record every second of ON DUTY time.

 

Respected, but lets indulge lefties yet again in their momentary desires because they say so.

 

Ounce of prevention, & all that related speak.....

 

We are what we feel happened.

 

We dun need no stinkn lawz.

*except the ones trumplord Tweets at 3am.

 

Except NCLU nstiff

 

Body cameras are good for everyone involved. I was originally against it as we have all seen how the car cams had shown an incident, but not the context. After seeing some of the cams that also recorded audio (first version did not as there was concern about rights of suspects) I changed my mind.

Facial recognition should be limited to those an officer has direct contact with with. Either individually such as a suspect, or as a group like a crowd of bystanders.

As for when they are in operation, they should run continuously from the moment an officer starts his shift until s/he ends it. It would be childs play to add a bluetooth hard drive to a car that stores the recordings.

 

I am totally OK with body cameras and facial recognition software being applied.

Its just another form of witness, a better form of witness, actually. We don't object to other people being on the street and they can act as witnesses or recognise us as well, but less reliably and not in a way that can be empirically and independently tested.

Just think of the reduction to police paperwork as well if all the conversations were recorded and filed automatically. That means more cops on the beat. Who could complain?

 

What happens when cops (even white) are found innocent, and criminals (even black) are found guilty?

Will we blame machines?

 

What if the best witness disrupts a narrative?

Could it be volatile? An aromatic benzene of truth in the era of sinusitis?

 

WTF?
You sure you're not a lefty?

 

I think we should trust our police and people should stop doing things which are illegal and brings about confrontation with law enforcement. It is simple just obey the law.