“It turns out that the police officer who was wearing the body cam didn’t turn it on during the operation. That’s why I am also ordering an investigation on him.” Jemboy Baltazar, mistaken for a suspect, was shot dead on August 2 after jumping off a boat in Barangay NBBS Kaunlaran.
When this was first announced as some kind of breakthrough in preventing police abuses, most people correctly predicted that the bodycams will be turned off or unavailable when needed. They weren’t wrong.
Until we get to a point that action cams can run on battery for more than 24 hours during which only the supervisor has access to opening the cam and charging it, these cops have plausible deniability.
The bodycam pc for my local sheriff’s office is an area accessable to anyone who can get past the lobby and the password is one of the top 3 “never use” passwords. The problem is much deeper in many locations.