Compelling Police to Use Dash-Cams Will SAVE LIVES

[N'Zinga Shani]

This is a compilation blog post. After the first extensive paragraph (written by N'Zinga Shäni) much of the remaining information is from Time Magazine (Aug 25, 2014 issue) and also from Times web source. All other sources have been identified in the blog along with the active links. 

Why Cops in Ferguson Don’t Have Body Cameras

Josh Sanburn @joshsanburn - Aug. 14, 2014

And why cops most everywhere else don't either.  Many police departments across the country have dash - cams that will record police interactions with citizens.  Why aren't those who have them using them?  Those departments that use them have found them to be very helpful; they provide irrefutable evidence and a record of exactly what happened during a police and citizen encounter.  One can only suspect that the reasons for not using them are not in the best interest of the hundreds who have died at the hands of police officers across the country.  The public record of the past two years provide strong evidence of why police departments across the country, and particularly those known for their disparate treatment of black and brown people, should be compelled to have their dash-cams mounted and on at ALL times.  (N'Zinga Shäni)

A Mix of Hope and Anger at Peaceful Ferguson Vigil

Rand Paul: We Must Demilitarize the Police

Missouri Governor Stumbles in the Ferguson Spotlight

 "The circumstances surrounding the fatal police shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., are still largely unknown. St. Louis County police say Brown assaulted a Ferguson police officer and tried to take his gun. A witness disputes that account, saying Brown’s hands were raised when an officer fired. But the ongoing investigations by authorities are hamstrung in part by the fact that no video exists of the incident. Ferguson police chief Thomas Jackson said Wednesday that while the department has two dashcams, neither have been installed in police vehicles." 

 http://time.com/3114329/ferguson-michael-brown-police-body-cameras/

In the August 25, 2014 Time Magazine, under the title Fatal Encounter, David Von Drehle writes the following:

"In a suburb of St. Louis, Michael Brown, 18, an unarmed black teenager, was shot to death by a police officer on the sunny afternoon of Aug. 9. Two days later, near dusk in South Los Angeles, Ezell Ford, a black man in his mid-20s, was shot to death by a police officer. His family says he was unarmed. Last fall, in a subdivision near Charlotte, N.C., Jonathan Ferrell, 24, an unarmed black man, was shot to death by a police officer.

In a country still sorting through the emotions stirred by the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teen confronted by a neighborhood-watch volunteer in Sanford, Fla.–a country rattled by a disturbing video of Eric Garner, 43, an unarmed black man, dying after an apparent police choke hold on July 17 in Staten Island, N.Y.–it would be useful to know how often this happens." These examples are ample reasons for police dash-cams to be mounted and on at all times.

The following more comprehensive report on the killing of teenager, Michael Brown is written on the wikipedia web site linked below:

"The shooting death of Michael Brown occurred on August 9, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri, United States, a suburb of St. Louis. Brown, an 18-year-old African-American man, died after being shot multiple times by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, 28, who is white.^[1][2][3] Brown was unarmed and had no history of arrests or criminal convictions.^[4] According to Ferguson police, Brown was a suspect in a robbery committed minutes before the shooting, although the initial contact between Wilson and Brown was unrelated to the robbery.^[5][6] Wilson has served four years with the Ferguson Police Department and two years with another local police department.^[7] He had no disciplinary history.^[8]

As of August 17, 2014, authorities have yet to release detailed information as to how Brown was shot and killed, or even how many bullets were fired or bullet wounds sustained.^[9]

The incident sparked demonstrations and unrest in Ferguson including peaceful protests,^[10] vandalism, and other forms of social unrest that continued for more than a week.^[11][12] Widespread media coverage examined the trend of local police departments arming themselves with "military-grade weapons" and responding in a military fashion when dealing with protesting civilians and journalists covering volatile current events.^[13]

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened a civil rights investigation of the shooting.^[14] U.S. President Barack Obama issued a statement expressing condolences to Brown's family and committed the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct an investigation.^[15]

On August 16, after the police were criticized for "standing down" rather than acting to impede looters who inflicted substantial losses on several Ferguson businesses, Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and implemented nightly midnight-to-5-a.m. curfews in Ferguson.^{[16]"  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Michael_Brown}

Updated Aug. 20, 2014 -

Autopsy Shows Michael Brown Was Struck at Least 6 Times 

By FRANCES ROBLES and JULIE BOSMANAUG. 17, 2014

FERGUSON, Mo. — Michael Brown, the unarmed black teenager who was killed by a police officer, sparking protests around the nation, was shot at least six times, including twice in the head, a preliminary private autopsy performed on Sunday found.

One of the bullets entered the top of Mr. Brown’s skull, suggesting his head was bent forward when it struck him and caused a fatal injury, according to Dr. Michael M. Baden, the former chief medical examiner for the City of New York, who flew to Missouri on Sunday at the family’s request to conduct the separate autopsy. It was likely the last of bullets to hit him, he said.

Mr. Brown, 18, was also shot four times in the right arm, he said, adding that all the bullets were fired into his front.

The bullets did not appear to have been shot from very close range because no gunpowder was present on his body. However, that determination could change if it turns out that there is gunshot residue on Mr. Brown’s clothing, to which Dr. Baden did not have access.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/18/us/michael-brown-autopsy-shows-he...?