Oakland PD ‘Forgetting’ To Turn On Their Body-Mounted Cameras | Crooks and Liars.
There’s no shortcut: The only way police departments respond to the community is when the community rises up. Unfortunately, far too often, people think expressing your outrage online is equivalent to showing up at your town council meetings. It isn’t. Leaders will go as far as they think they can go without suffering public backlash:
Relations between Oakland police and the city’s residents have never been good, which is one reason why the department issued body-mounted cameras to its officers last year.
The goal was to increase accountability, which is important for a department that is facing a federal takeover this March.
However, the above video, which shows several officers with their body-mounted cameras turned off – a departmental violation – is just the latest example of Oakland police officers not wanting any accountability.The video is also a clear demonstration of just how high tensions are between Oakland police and citizens.
The video was produced by Jacob Crawford and journalist Ali Winston from footage obtained during the January 28th demonstration that included activists attempting to break into city hall.
“When the cameras are turned on, you see a green light,” said Crawford, a longtime Cop Watch activist whom I wrote about in 2010 after he was assaulted for attempting to video record a cop.“When the cameras are turned off, they just look like a pager.”
its a shame, and Im not surprised…I have family and close friends on the force. my novel is even based on a police officer. over the last 2 years i have learned the good and the very bad part of the police force.. at times I am angry at them and for them… some days one side ways more than the other.
I also have a cop in the family! He’d get beat up for something like this from his own family! I would hate to find out that he even does anything like this.
Wait, he doesn’t anymore, forgot, he now works inside! No longer on patrol! Thank goodness. He has had a few close calls. I was looking at your blog, about learning from the veteran police officer. My brother use to tell stories, some would make us laugh, the craziness of it all, some is awful. My son died from Sudden Infant Death in 1982. My brother became a cop in 1985. (Almost ready for retirement, he is going the whole 30 yrs.) He told me once, we don’t talk about it much, that every time a baby died from crib death and he had the call he would cry and cry. Partly because of my own son and partly for the family My sister-in-law said he would be very quiet for days. He is already a quiet person! I am glad he isn’t on patrol anymore. There have been a few times he has been run off the road by criminals who recognized him as the arresting officer. A few years ago he even made national news after a prisoner that was being transported stabbed my brother in the neck with a PEN. A writing pen. Can’t wait for him to be off the force. I appreciate what he does and what all police officers do, but I am ready for him to be safe. Sometimes it is hard to listen to their stories.