Trigger Happy !

Most Australian are perplexed about the litany of cases in America where white cops shoot unarmed blacks and condone the shooting by claiming that they fired in "self defence ".  Finally - the ubiquitous camera phone delivered damning evidence that will see a white policeman stand trial for murder.  The likely outcomes is that all police will be required to wear body cameras and a visual record will become evidence when they interact with the public.

It was the triviality of the offence that will amaze many people.   A fifty year old black motorist was pulled over because he had a defective tail light. He got out of the car and confronted the policeman and there seemed to be a tussle over the cops Taser, which dropped to the ground.   The unarmed motorist fled - and with his back turned the officer pulled his gun and fired eight shots into his back, killing him instantly.  Before another officer arrived, he picked up the Taser and dropped it beside the body to support his self defence claim.

A witness used the camera in his phone to record this entire incident and made it available to the dead man's relatives - and from there it went viral.  The police officer has been fired from the Charleston, North Carolina police force and is in prison awaiting a murder trial, but this incident reinforces a spate of suspicious killings in recent times when each death has involved an unarmed black man and gun fire for no clear reason.

There seems to be a lot wrong with the thinking of police in the United States.  The fact that there is a gun culture that makes it likely that any person a cop approaches may be armed  is good reason to make them cautious but in most cases they seem to demand that the person lay on the ground and they are quick to apply handcuffs.  News footage reinforces this custom and it is also evident that any incident involves an excess of additional police cars and considerable backup for even the most trivial event.   It seems that the police involved demand instant obedience.  There seems no question of equality in dealings with the law.

That same aggressive attitude seems to be finding it's way into the stance of police here in Australia. Guns are becoming more prevalent in the hands of bikie gangs and the drug industry and the incidence of terrorism has hardened police attitudes to confrontation when dealing with the public. Fortunately, the actual firing of a police pistol involves a thorough investigation of the circumstances, although this was also promised when Tasers were introduced - and has been found wanting.  In many cases Tasers are used to avoid the need to physically subdue a prospect and there have been accusations of gross overuse.

This North Carolina incident in the US will probably accelerate the inclusion of a body camera on police uniforms and we would be wise to adopt that custom here.  Where it is in use there has been a noticeable decrease in confrontations with the police because evidence will clearly negate false claims - and that is applicable to both sides of the law.   Just as formal interviews between suspects and police are taped and recorded, every encounter between the police and the public would be the better for a sound and motion record as evidence.

There seems no doubt that at least a portion of police in the United States are quick to use their guns and could be accused of being "trigger happy ".   The Tasers on issue here in Australia are equipped with video cameras, but in many instances there are claims that the video was either "turned off "or "obscured ".

It is essential that when body cameras become standard issue it be ensured that they are never not operating at all times - and in all circumstances.  They present the long awaited opportunity to remove the element of doubt whenever there is a disparity between two points of view.