Should Police Officers Wear Body Cameras Research Paper

“In April 2015, Michael Slager, a 33-year-old white police officer in North Charleston, South Carolina, fatally shot Walter Scott, an unarmed 50-year-old African American man, after he pulled Scott's car over for having a faulty taillight. Slager claimed he had feared for his life when Scott stole his Taser, an account backed by the police department. Days later, however, a bystander, Feidin Santana, released cell phone footage of the shooting to the media that showed the two men engaging in a brief scuffle before Scott ran away. Slager then shot Scott eight times in the back before placing an object, which many speculated was his Taser, next to Scott's prone body. After the release of the video, Slager was fired from the force and charged with murder; a grand jury indicted him in June”(). Walter Scott horrific death is a clear example that it is crucial for all police officers to wear body cameras. Police officers in body cameras will prevent violence, hold them accountability for appropriate and inappropriate behavior, and serve as on hand evidence.
In order to understand my position on police officers …show more content…
Those who disapprove of body cameras argue that it be a costly device. According to Jarrod Bruder, “a sheriff's office in South Carolina would have to spend about $600,000 to purchase body cameras for 250 deputies, and another $600,000 each year to maintain the resulting footage”. The cost of implanting body cameras to each police officer in every state will exceed more than millions of dollars. On top of that, the government will eventually spend taxpayers’ money on a device that is not as necessary as buying bullet proof vests or any other accessory needed to protect the lives of the police officers. For those who oppose of police officers wearing body cameras are concerned of being taxed more to fund a device that will soon lead the Unite States into more