Everybody out there on the street has a video camera in their mobile phone, recording police officers’ interactions with subjects in all manner of scenarios. In many cases, those videos get posted to YouTube, and more often than most people realize, those videos have been carefully edited with a ‘the truth be damned’ attitude, showing not what actually happened, but what might make the officer look bad. Police1 Editor-in-Chief Doug Wyllie discusses briefly the notion that body-worn video cameras are an inoculation against litigation for officers and agencies. Such videos help to ensure that officers are protected against frivolous — and often times totally fictional — claims of officer misconduct.
Body-worn cameras: Inoculation against litigation
Doug Wyllie writes police training content on a wide range of topics and trends affecting the law enforcement community. Doug was a co-founder of the Policing Matters podcast and a longtime co-host of the program.