Briahna Minnesota

Police body cams

This letter is telling the next president why police officers should wear body cams while on duty.

Dear Next President,

The issue about police body cameras has come up before. Body cams should be forced on police officers uniforms, so the country can see who should be accountable for this and that, we can see the excessive force police use against people, and finally we can see the affects of having body cameras wore by police officers.

One of the main reasons for having police body cams is accountability. Police officers seem to always to get walk even though they just took an innocent person's life. There have been fatal shootings over the past years, like the Tamir Rice case, the Trayvon Martin case and many more were the officers involved weren't accountable nor sentenced for their actions. Instead the officers got to walk. ("Police Shootings and Race - The Washington Post"). If the law forced officers to wear cams the country would know they treat people and actually might lose their job and maybe do time.

Officers, juries and even some civilians deny the fact that police use excessive force/brutality against people they just think the police is doing there job. Here's a great example why cams should mandatory, so officers don't get away with this kind of thing again. Mr. Garner was on the sidewalk where illegal cigarettes are sold at, officers already knew Mr. Garner from the past so the cops had enough of the selling and decided to arrest him. Mr. Garner refused by putting his hands so officer Pantaleo thought up a solution, so officer Pantaleo put his hands around Mr. Garner's neck so he can put him in a chokehold. That right there is excessive force instead of asking Mr. Garner to cooperate they forced him in a chokehold which lead him to go into cardiac arrest ("New Perspective on Eric Garner's Death - The New York Times"). Body cams can't stop this kind of behavior but the country would be able to see it which can lead to more protest and get the media talking and start having consequences for police officers who about their power as a officer by bullying people.

 If more officers wear body cameras it may reduce crime rates, death rates and maybe fatal shootings. In California the police department said after they started using body cams there was a 89 percent drop in complaints against officers ("Police Shootings and Race - The Washington Post). If civilians know they're being recorded most of them with common sense will follow directions because there video footage which can be played in court. Wearing cams can benefit officers and civilians, Injuries between police officers and civilians have gone down by officers wearing body cams.

   Some civilians are on the no police body cameras side for the simply fact the cameras will cause a privacy issue for people on the street( "Rights Groups: Police Body Cameras Raise Privacy Issues Politics.com"). Everyone should be entitled to have their own privacy, but it's not likely you'll be by an officer every minute of the day and if you are by a officer with a body cam don't do anything stupid that can get you in trouble with the police. Body cams can help with evidence and also stated above can help lower crime rates. So who cares about if you might be seen on the cams their a bigger picture of having this cams. So to wrap up this letter police officers should have to wear body cams. 

St. Paul Central High School

Approaching Analysis Hours 4 and 5

10 Quest 4th and 5th hour students

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