Take a Video ?

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Lifestyle

Cameras are ubiquitous and the pictures and videos taken by them are playing an ever-increasing part in our lives.
I recently heard a legal analyst refer to videos as the new DNA of criminal prosecutions.
Call me “old fashioned”, but I am not one who immediately thinks of taking out my cell phone and taking pictures, let alone a video. (Flo and I recently saw Patti Smith in an informal and small setting and Patti asked people in the audience to put down their cell phones and stop taking videos. She noted that a professional livestream was being made for posterity.  I like Patti Smith.)
Would you take a video of a policeman chasing someone in the park?  If the answer is "No",  the question of “Why?” follows. Technical ineptitude is one thing; not caring or not getting involved is another.
My brother-in-law reminded me of the last Seinfeld episode in which they were arrested for failing to intervene as they witnessed a mugging. Perhaps today it would have been for not taken a video?

Comments

Cayce Crown

Smartest statement I've heard all day, Fred...
I'm a big fan of the accessibility of video for everyone. All you have to do is spend 15 minutes on the Facebook to see the interesting, creative things people are making.
And it has certainly become more valuable in law enforcement, though not as simple as some think. Anything that enables us personally and as members of this human race to see ourselves more clearly is an asset I'm in favor of.
However, I would not be a fan of people being penalized for not taking video.
I am a fan of getting involved and minding my own business, a fine line sometimes.
Corey Bearak

We should get trained to take the videos so it becomes as easy as riding a bike if you do not routinely use that function.
Daniel Schwartz

The problem I see with all the video "evidence" is that it usually only shows part of the action. With a police action, we often only get the tail end showing some bad scene, but rarely do we see what led to that scene that may have caused a harsh reaction. Just saying, we should not rely heavily on all video evidence alone, which seems to be the "in" thing these days,

Submitted by NULL (not verified) on Thu, 04/16/2015 - 01:31

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Donna Levine wrote
First of i can barely take a still shot. That aside i do think after you call 911 (if needed) its a good thing to take the video but the video must be used properly in a courtroom as being an incomplete record. Similar to the street/store videos that are used as they only cover a portion of the area. It is unfortunate that the media uses the incomplete video/story and poisons the pool and tries the case in the news

Submitted by Erik_Scheibe on Thu, 04/16/2015 - 04:09

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Erik Scheibe

I heard an interview with the young man who took the video in the South Carolina shooting by a police officer of a fleeing assailant. He actually said that when he realized what he had recorded, he seriously thought about erasing it, saying that he was afraid. Him not doing that and releasing the video to the public was incredibly courageous and heroic.

Between the dash cam and the citizen's footage, a chilling picture was painted not just about that incident, but about the way of life in some (many, all?) police forces. Almost as petrifying as the shooting was the cavalier manner in which he dropped the taser next to the body...right in front of another officer who was black.

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