On Aug. 9, Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Since the story broke, media sources and the public are increasingly concerned with police brutality, and rightfully so.

There has been what seems to be a trend of fatal police shootings of unarmed, black males. This needs to be addressed through greater accountability of police officers and greater punishment for unjustifiable shootings and police brutality. Improved accountability can be reached by passing legislation requiring police officers to wear cameras that record all of their interactions throughout the course of their shifts.

The shooting, understandably, has lead to large protests in the Ferguson area. These protests have resulted in significant damage in the St. Louis area. Many were arrested, injured and there has been significant looting of nearby stores.

Another shooting of an unarmed black male in 2009 led to similar protests. On New Years Day, Bay Area Regional Transit Police shot unarmed Oscar Grant. There was clear footage of what occurred before and during Grant’s shooting and as a result, there was no dispute over the fact that Grant was shot unjustifiably. In Brown’s case, there was limited footage of the incident and it is disputed whether or not Brown brandished a knife. Johannes Mehserle, the BART officer who shot Grant, later claimed he thought he was using his taser. According to a Nov. 5 2010 ABC article, Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to only two years in jail, which is the lightest sentence possible. 

However, the accountability level in Grant’s case was somewhat higher because of the film of the interactions prior to the shooting.

According to an Aug. 12 Wall Street Journal article, expert Maria Haberfeld said that there has not been an increase in police brutality but rather an increase in documentation of it with cell phone cameras. No data is cited in the article. Haberfeld later stated that there is not a centralized database documenting police brutality.

One solution to the hazy accounts of arrests and brutality, as well as the lack of accountability, is requiring officers to wear cameras. According to an Aug. 18 Wall Street Journal article, police accountability has improved in Rialto, a small town in California. The Rialto police officers are required to wear cameras to record their entire shifts. The cameras cost $900 and could be worn on a shirt collar or sunglasses. Researchers found that “within a year, the number of complaints filed against police officers in Rialto fell by 88 percent and “use of force” fell by 59 percent.”

If cameras are implemented in order to hold police accountable, it is important that these records be made accessible, and perhaps public, when officers are being accused of brutality. Data regarding police brutality should be published annually based on the video footage.

Filming all police activity creates greater accountability for both officers and citizens. Unraveling the details of an incident where there is accurate video footage is much less complicated than the he-said-she-said inaccuracy of the accounts of the shooting in Ferguson, and any police brutality. 

There are several problems with police brutality, the first being accurate documentation of the events and the second being a lack of punishment for officer’s actions, both within the police force and in the U.S. Justice system. Officers need to be severely reprimanded within the police force for use of excessive force, and in the criminal justice system if necessary. A combination of clear facts established through videotaping and harsher punishments could help end police brutality.

Rachel Potter is a senior political science and sociology major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at repotter@syr.edu.

Published on August 26, 2014 at 12:30 am