Two Tennessee lawmakers want to ensure that police officers' body cameras remain turned on.
State
Rep. G.A. Hardaway and Sen. Sara Kyle have introduced bills that would
make it a felony for officers to intentionally turn off their body-worn
cameras to obstruct justice.
Body
cameras are usually worn on officers' chests and record what they see
as they perform their duties. They were introduced with the intention of
discouraging police misconduct and to protect officers from unfounded
civil complaints.
Five states -- California, Nevada, South
Carolina, Florida and Connecticut -- have enacted laws that require
some officers to use body cameras, according to the National Conference
of State Legislatures.
But some officers view the cameras as unwanted scrutiny and a sign their supervisors don't trust them.
Under
current state law in Tennessee, prosecutors can file charges against
police officers who turn off their body cameras for tampering with
evidence. But Hardaway believes the law is not specific enough and needs
to be updated to reflect the relatively new video technology.
"There's
nothing more objective than body cams or dash cams," Hardaway said.
"When there's a police shooting or other incidents that cause harm to
citizens, (the public wants) some evidence other than 'he said, she
said' and that's what this law speaks to -- the new technology."
Hardaway
added that his bill makes clear that "failure of the device to capture
certain evidence due to intentional acts on behalf of police officers is
unacceptable."
If the bill passes,
violations of the law would be a Class E felony -- the least serious
felonies. They are punishable by one to two years in prison.
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While this is nice and something that should be done in all states, the problem is the Jury. How about we do without a Jury to ensure proper justice?
