@BigDanInTX: I agree, but it's also worth mentioning that your head cam idea will catch every time the dumbasses who "know better" than the police left them no choice but to trow a beatin on em. There are bad cops, but also bad 'perps'.

Evan394

Sounds like a cool idea even if they had absolutely no reason to do it. And I must add that WTF took them so long, we've had the dash cams for 20+ years, I was wonderin when this was commin.

oh yeah, Darrone, I'm all about the vids, but please stop buying stuff at that shitty, shitty store. I don't care if their products are made in China or USA or by Al Qaeda, that store just fuckin sux.

Fump dat.

Evan394

Why not just mount head-cams on them and be done with it? Most of the inappropriate actions of the officers occur WITHOUT the firearm unholstered. Why not show them with the night stick beating the hell out of the perp when he really didn't need it? If they knew everything they did was on tape, not just from the dash cam and not randomly by onlookers, they'd perform in the best interest of the people, not themselves.

BigDanInTX

Police Chief: POWERS WHAT HAPPENED TO THE FPS GUN CAMERA FOOTAGE?!
Powers: Battery died sir.

Joseph

When the hell does the new season of The Shield start, anyway?

Munch

Or we can spend money on ensuring that 3-and-look practices are taught, re-taught, and tested.

OMG! Ponies!

So Fox gets a new "World's Scariest Police Shootouts and Standoffs" to complement it's "Chases" line. Can't wait.

PipeRifle

Cops: Shots Fired....

So worth the 4.99 from the Walmart bin.

Darrone

How about minicams loaded in the bullets, like they do with bombs?

Also... does another cop have to hold the sound boom over the criminals, or is someone working on that?

OtioseScandal

I wish it was on the bullet instead of the gun.

adamgamble

If cops get cameras on guns, it's a slippery slope to photographers getting guns on cameras.

frigg

@OMG! Ponies!: The 3-and-look what now? Never heard of that term before.

TheCyberBob

I like the idea, but they also need to come out with a night stick cam, tazer cam, and mace cam, then I'll be happy.

graffiksguru

SHould have some good stabilization software or else the tech wold be completely useless. factor in bad picture quality and the horrible shake that will occur. Of course it will happen when the firearm is discharged but what about when the officer has the gun fixed on the target? It'll be shaky as hell and extremely hard to discern details from still images.

FinalValgas

i wonder what percentage of camera footage will be "lost". Just like car footage is "lost". Perhaps the name of the article should be "lost".

jkr2

Cameras should be on cops all the time, always running. Live streaming feeds from every copcam should be available to anyone online. Undercover cops are excepted, but not plainclothes.

Now we turn to the politicians...

Killjoy

@OtioseScandal: Not necessary. Just simply ask the perp to clip on one of those talk show mics and you're all set.

CubFan81

ponies...does 3 and look = 2 to the chest, 1 to the head? MUNCH, The Shield starts in the Fall, they've had spots for it on FX, final season, no date yet.

Kaspir

awww, BigDan sounds like he got tuned up a time or two... I want the cops to do their jobs w/o being idiots, but I don't always want to see how it gets done, and I don't think a cop beating on someone is looking out for their own best interests, as it can lead to way more trouble for them than not beating someone. At the same time, I'm sure if/when something happened to you or your family, you'd want the guy who did it to feel your pain.

Kaspir

So is this Call of Duty 5?

Kraftwerker

@Munch: September, last time I checked. Not soon enough.
Also, it's the final season.

wjousts

Don't forget to put a camera on the handle. Remember folks, pistol-whipping saves bullets.

Kaiser-Machead

@spectator101: yeah, you get a law like 'shoot first, never ask questions' to pass, and its all yours. Hell, we could just put machine guns on cop cars instead of sirens, cuz if your driving stupid, you MUST be high! Just don't forget to signal before changing lanes...

VENAT0R

@jbs0902: a cop making a 'mistake' and shooting someone, or making a 'mistake' and handing out ridiculous tickets etc is allot more serious than some punk kids smoking some pot in their own basement, or going 5 over on the freeway.

If a cop makes a serious mistake, then he deserves to be punished. This doesn't mean that every time a cop acts like a douchebag hes going to jail, but it will probably come in handy for settling disputes over who was out of line. As long as the cops are being responsible, it will help them more than it will hurt them.

And your anti-Marxist victim/oppressor comments are a little naive... Believe it or not, some people in this world actually DO have the power to take advantage of or push around other people, and they do it fairly regularly. That's not Marxism, thats just the way it is. Everyone has encountered at least one jerk cop that pulled you over for something silly and wrote you a ticket for something that maybe only deserved a warning. America is about the people being in charge, remember? Just think of this as a check/balance on the police's power over the people. If all cops wore head cams, it would be allot easier for a judge to make a fair ruling in court.

VENAT0R

I think the cops should shoot more deserving people, and NOT have to deal with this crap/law suites etc.

Like a cop friend of mine told me, "If you run, you get beaten. It's that simple."

And like I always say, "Shoot first, never ask questions."

spectator101

Oh yeah, this will be great.
Now every single mistake will be a jail sentence for a cop.
Plus we'll have the joy of calmly watching the video in slow motion telling the cop what they should have done when they where pumped full of adrenaline and making millisecond decisions.
We already have instances of cops sitting in their cars and calling for back-up when simple robberies occur because they are afraid of lawsuits.

The UK neutered their police force (and the right to self-defense). How is that working out for them? Crime down?
Perfect is the enemy of good.

Of course if you are looking at everything from the lenses of Marxist victim/oppressor, nothing the police will do is right.

I have plenty of problems with No-Knock Raids (often the wrong house) and Nifong-style prosecutors and I think that it is impossible to get through modern life without break one of the thousands of laws on the books.

But, I also think I can figure out the motive behind a law promulgated by an official in a dysfunctional (Mariam Barry, murder capital of the US a few years ago), minority run (traditionally those that have problems with cops), 99% far left (the victim/oppressor template) city.

This isn't about exonerating cops, but about getting cops.

jbs0902

@BigDanInTX: Cops acting in the best interests of the people? Wah? Fat chance of that happening, but I really like your idea. Every time I've felt scammed by a cop, there was no gun involved, so I think head cams would make a much better idea..... not to mention cooler FPS videos :D

VENAT0R

@wjousts: If they wait any longer, Mackey's going to have to trade his car for a hoveround

Munch

Cloverfield-induced gun cam footage!

Bet those donut-festuring cops hide the footage of the gun firing at a dumpster, at someoen else or gasp, 50 rounds into a car 5 feet away!

Guess Philly cops could use boot-tip cameras...kick...kick...

SigmundTheSeaMonster

Coupled with at taunt emitter it'll be peaches!

MarlboroTestMonkey7

I think that the Police Unions will fight this tooth and nail. They will argue that the device interferes with the operation of the weapon and endangers the life of the officer. If it is ever fielded, I would expect that most of the units would be rendered inoperable, either intentionally or accidently within hours.

russdanger

Vic Mackey wouldn't want that camera on his gun. Yeah, Munch, when is The Shield coming back on.

octoSink

@spectator101: you're an idiot.

alpacalypse

@russdanger: how so?

VENAT0R

@russdanger: That, and find a holster that will accommodate it.

ViperBorg

Excellent use of the picture from The Shield.

ViperBorg

@Alfonzo: Until people start throwing them from long distances.

Kaiser-Machead

don't give people guns. problem solved.

knife fights are waaay cooler anyways.

Alfonzo

@OMG! Ponies!: Two shots for San Diego PD.

EBone

@TheCyberBob: 3-and-look: Fire no more than 3 shots before looking to reassess.

It's part of NYPD's Patrol Guidelines, along with relatively heavy trigger-pulls. Fiddling with the trigger-pull to make it lighter usually ensures that 3-and-look can't get followed.

Believe it or not, NYC has a pretty low police fatal shooting rate. Unfortunately, the fatalities that do happen occur when practices that are already in effect don't get followed.

OMG! Ponies!

I want the K-9 cam.
Watch us go from a wide shot to a rapid zoom crotch bite.

dascoyne

Frankly, I'd feel safer with more surveillance on crooks than cops.

dascoyne

@OMG! Ponies!: This policy must only apply to certain suspects, or Oliver's service pistol had the lightest trigger pull ever, coupled with his medical condition causing him to reload mags when the slide locks to the rear.

TOWken22

@Killjoy: Exactly! As David Brin has pointed out we cannot avoid becoming a surveillance society, but we can assure we are the ones who control it. Every surveillance camera should be available for viewing by anyone so inclined and every police station, fire station, emergency room, etc should have cams.

As for politicians, they should only be off camera when they are at home.

gtpooh

@jbs0902:

Now every single mistake will be a jail sentence for a cop.

mistakes often result in jail sentences for us regular folk... why should the police get special treatment for their mistakes?

i wasn't aware they were above the law. apparently i stand corrected.

there are hundreds of jobs as dangerous and as stressful as being a police officer... but it seems to be that the police get a special pass for their stress-related "heat of the moment" mistakes that no one else would get or expect in their jobs.

i don't see why upping the accountability for the actions of police officers is a bad thing at all. especially when the "mistakes" can cost a life.

it isn't even a 24/7 camera running on them... it runs when they pull their gun out. that is an instance where they should be held to a much higher standard of conduct.

x23

The problem is, there are two types of "laws": the criminal code, that cops expect every citizen to follow, and the rules of criminal procedure, that every cop is expected to follow. Problem is, many cops do not see the rules as "law", and think they are allowed to break them to catch citizens who break criminal laws. It is definitely hypocritical. Any check and oversight on police power will help keep the cops who refuse to follow the rules (proper searches, appropriate levels of force, etc) in check.

vancurenw