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LA police question impact of amateur videos
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published November 24, 2006
LOS ANGELES - Arlin Pacheco turned her video camera from the kittens on her porch to the police officers she saw chasing and tackling a neighbor. The camera was rolling as one officer pressed his knee on the man's neck and punched his face. That arrest of suspected gang member William Cardenas didn't draw much attention until last week, when Pacheco's video appeared on the YouTube Web site. Footage of two other arrests quickly followed, and the images fueled an uproar and accusations of police brutality. Videos of police using force on suspects have sparked outrage from California to Philadelphia and Europe after onlookers captured incidents on cheap cameras or video cell phones. Some law enforcement officials worry about the effect, arguing that showing only a tiny part of an event can't tell the story. They also fear such exposure might give officers pause in the future, even when force is justified, and that could put people in danger. "You know, policing is oftentimes not pretty," Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton said. "The video, as we've seen from time to time, particularly if you're looking at a slice of it, makes it look even less pretty." Recent images of an Iranian-American student at the University of California at Los Angeles who was repeatedly shocked with a Taser by campus police have been viewed nearly a million times on YouTube and led to protests and an investigation. Police say the footage was notable for what it left out: The student refused to comply with rules that he show a college identification card or leave the library. Civil rights attorney Connie Rice says images may "polarize and politicize police investigations," but she said they also force the LAPD to look inward. Bob Baker, president of the department's 9,000-member union, said police have nothing to hide. The union applauds a plan to install digital cameras in some cruisers. "Putting cameras in cars will give people a full story of what took place," he said.
[Last modified November 24, 2006, 01:29:02]
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