Garth Rattray | Body-worn cams ASAP please

Many years ago, I was driving along a main thoroughfare at about 10 p.m. I was driving my father’s VW minibus. A police vehicle approached from behind and pulled me over. I wound down the window, turned off the vehicle, and sat waiting for the police to approach.

Instead of approaching, two policemen alighted their vehicle and commenced shouting, “All a unnu come outta di vehicle!” I was alone in the minivan. The way that the policemen kept their distance and their tone led me to believe that I could have a problem. As I opened the door very slowly, they repeated their command. By the time I had both feet on the ground, they came closer, and I found myself staring down the barrels of two pistols.

Luckily, I happened to stop under a streetlight. They could see me clearly, and I could see them clearly. Both had their fingers on the trigger. The younger of the two seemed agitated. He was sweating. He moved forward and looked into each window. The older gentleman stood there with his pistol trained on me.

I believed that I was going to be killed that night. However, I was not afraid because in my mind, I was already dead. I was distressed as I thought, “They are going to kill me and then lie about finding a weapon on me or some such thing. I will be dead and unable to defend myself. People will think that I was a criminal.”

After doing a cursory visual search of the vehicle, the two policemen relaxed and holstered their weapons. They did not speak. I asked if that was how they treated decent people … pointing their guns at their heads for no reason. The older one uttered something about a gun in hand is at the ready. They allowed me to leave.

LAMENTED THE NEED

Even back then, I lamented the need for some device to record encounters between the police and the citizenry. I could easily have been the victim of overzealous policing or of mistaken identity and there would be no way to exonerate me.

We are living in a time when technology has become indispensable. The idea of body-worn cameras (BWCs) came about in the late 1990s. The Dutch police were among the first to lead the way with portable video cameras used on the mounted riot police in 1997. In 2005, the UK’s Devon and Cornwall police launched a small-scale trial of the modern-day BWC. Between 2007 and 2010, other developed countries experimented with the use of BWCs.

Global adoption of this technology occurred between 2014 and 2016. The modern cameras boast HD quality, infrared tech, improved data storage and even live streaming. In many jurisdictions, BWCs have become essential to law enforcement. They promote transparency, accountability, and community trust. Their use benefits the public and the police alike. In all instances, BWCs have resulted in a significant reduction in complaints against the police.

Fast-forward to September 15, Cherry Tree Lane in Four Paths, Clarendon. Online (social media) video footage shows 22-year-old Jahmar Farquharson opening his front door for the police, raising both hands overhead, and exiting the premises while police personnel walked past him and entered. The official report is that he was escorted into his bedroom, where he pulled a hidden .38 revolver on the team, was fired on, and fatally wounded. The revolver was allegedly recovered at the scene.

The official report is plausible, but the video, purported to precede the event, certainly looks ‘a way’ (meaning ‘bad’ in Jamaican vernacular). BWCs would have cleared up all doubts. As with dash cams, BWCs make the users aware that their actions are being recorded. They also make the public at large feel safer because they know that law enforcement knows that events are being recorded.

DRAWN IRE

Of course, if there are disputes and allegations of rogue (corrupt) cops (especially some on traffic duty), and extrajudicial killings (a long-standing concern that has drawn ire and consternation from local and international human rights organisations), the objective observer (the BWC) can be used in evidence. In fact, it is reported that in some United States jurisdictions, the use of BWCs resulted in an 88 per cent reduction in complaints against the police.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) already has 750 BWCs. Reportedly, 674 are being used by the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch, and the remaining BWCs are used for training. Another 1,000 has been ordered, and there are plans to acquire 3,000 more over the following three fiscal years. The need for digital security, storage capacity, and footage management has been identified and being actively worked on.

I don’t agree that the use of BWCs is unsuitable under some tactical circumstances. Even if the need to take cover precludes the continuous recording of data, the BWCs will capture the circumstances surrounding the event(s) in question and will provide crucial information.

As usual, the Independent Commission of Investigations is on this particular case. The Office of the Public Defender is monitoring things. And the human rights group Jamaicans For Justice is putting pressure on the system to seek justice for the good of all citizens. For the sake of our citizenry and the police, the use of BWCs has become crucial to modern-day policing. I hope and pray that many more will be deployed by the JCF ASAP.

Garth Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice, and author of ‘The Long and Short of Thick and Thin’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.