Police Brutality in the Era of Cell Phone Recordings

Oh my goodness. Bare with me. I feel a need to include this statement in my story as a lead into the topic of recording police brutality. Here goes. I’m just going to put it out there. For Black Americans, every encounter with law enforcement officers is potentially a life and death situation, and people video record as a means for their own protection and the protection of those they are recording. Still conversations in Black matter. Black Lives Matter and Justice matters. Can we get some justice?!

Let’s Take a Step Back

Back in the summer of 2020, I wrote an article about the many conversations I had and still have with my children who are now adults, on how to conduct themselves when or if they come in contact with law enforcement. If you missed it, click here https://thedcvoice.com/conversations-in-black/. In the article, I discussed my concerns and fears for their lives as they are out and about on any given day. My concerns and fears are the direct results of evidence of the brutality experienced by many Black males and females throughout the history of Black America. Even though many of the atrocities have been documented by experience, witnessed attacks and murders being captured via cell phones and uploaded to social media, there is little evidence of police behavior change or accountability. This is the backdrop for this article.

Take One 

Over the years or I should say since we were able to record with our cell phones, everything from soup to nuts have been recorded and uploaded to the world-wide-web and Facebook! This technology has become a giant lens for all to see that shows proof of police brutality and its existence, especially those involving Black individuals. It appears that awareness of the acts of police brutality was in full force after the death of George Floyd. His death at the hands of police may not have generated the level of outrage had the killing not been recorded. Had it not been for the videos and footage from bystanders, his death would not have sparked word-wide anger. But why now? Video recording of George Floyd’s death wasn’t the first viral video documenting a police killing. There were numerous brutalities and killings prior to Mr. Floyd. Other incidents were recorded as well. What made this one different?

Police Brutalities in Review

In the article that I referenced earlier on conversations in Black, I reported how back in 2106, Philando Castile was shot and killed in his car as his girlfriend live-streamed it on Facebook. Also in 2016, actually, the day before Castile, Alton Sterling was killed by police, and video evidence from a Smartphone was posted online. Eric Garner’s murder by police in New York City in 2014 was captured on video, moment-by-moment. Michael Brown was fatally shot by a 28-year-old white Ferguson police officer, also captured on video. Let’s not forget Rodney King who in 1991 was violently and severely beaten by Los Angeles police. No, he didn’t die, but the brutality was caught on camera long before we had cell phones and social medial. I can go on and on reciting victims’ names that died or suffered at the hands, knees, and bullets of police.

In some of these tragic and horrific occurrences, officers knew they were being videoed and continued with what police would say was justified. Sadly, none of these ignited the level of global outrage as the footage of the death of George Floyd. He, like Garner, spoke their last word, “I can’t breathe” caught on video, and people were finally fed up. Protests erupted. Is the use of cell phone videos leading to a new form of activism against injustices?

Allissa Richardson, author of “Bearing Witness While Black: African Americans, Smartphones, and the New Protest #Journalism” say that “rather than ushering in a brand new form of activism, new tech is simply being deployed for a much older purpose.” In her book, she introduces the concept of “black witnessing” and examines why Black people are utilizing mobile and social media to capture injustices. Richardson explains how Black Americans historically recorded injustices, dating back to slavery in pre-Civil War America. Activist and Abolitionist Frederick Douglass documented his experiences as a slave. So, in essence, Richardson says that “Black people are not just recording, but are attempting to connect historically, the dots between atrocities.” Tracey Brown who heads the civil rights and police brutality group at The Cochran Firm in New York City says that “from the first wave of the Black Lives Matter movement, protests mark a change in a way that “new” activist pushed the idea of police body cams and dash cams.” Not surprisingly, in most cases, police officers don’t get charged.

 Is there a Decrease in Police Behavior in the Face of Being Recorded?

 Studies show these devices haven’t led to a decrease in police shootings or an increase in accountability. An enormous amount of videos have been shared on social media. Bodycam and bystander’s cell phone videos alone don’t bring about change. None of these videos saved the victim’s life. Will we see convictions? How ironic that the choker in Garner’s case led not to officer Daniel Pantaleo’s indictment but to the arrest of the individual that filmed the killing!

So what impacts does recording police brutality have on decreasing these acts in a greater scheme of things? In a larger study conducted in 2014 by the Washington DC’s mayor’s office, more than 1,000 officers in the District was assigned to wear boy camera, and more than 1,000 other officers were camera free. Researchers hoping to find evidence that wearing cameras correlated with better policing, less force, and fewer civilian complaints – found none. The difference between officers who knew they were being watched and those who knew they weren’t was statically insignificant. Another research that analyzed the results of the 10 random controlled trials of body cameras used in different nations was conducted. Results indicate that cameras did not meaningfully affect police behavior on a range of outcomes, including complaints and use of force. They too concluded that the effects of cameras are likely smaller than many have hoped.

This is not to say that there is no value in the use of body cameras or power in cell phone videos, but it’s a start and while such mediums like these, cell phone videos and social media may have limited impact in actually stemming violence, Black Americans and others will continue to document abuses for reasons beyond simple prevention. There’s one thing images of police brutality seem to have the power to do: shock, outrage, and mobilize people to demand systemic change. We can only hope that if cameras and cell phone videos don’t deter officers from violent behavior, at least the recording can hold them accountable afterward.