Many police use cameras to record interactions
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Demian Bulwa, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer
As police work is increasingly captured on camera and scrutinized by the public, from traffic stops to a BART police officer's killing of Oscar Grant, many law enforcement agencies are asking the same question.
Why not control the cameras ourselves?
Around the Bay Area, police departments are studying what would be a profound cultural shift in law enforcement: outfitting all cops with wearable cameras to record stops, arrests, sobriety tests and interviews.
The practice, meant to gather evidence and provide a video record if misconduct allegations arise, is a step forward from dashboard cameras that have become common in cruisers and audio recorders that many officers strap to their belts.
