Spokane Police Guild

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Officers at thousands of law enforcement agencies are wearing tiny cameras to record their interactions with the public, but in many cases the devices are being rolled out faster than departments are able to create policies to govern their use.

According to statistics compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 72 officers were killed by perpetrators in 2011, a 25 percent increase from the previous year and a 75 percent increase from 2008. The 2011 deaths were the first time that more officers were killed by suspects than car accidents, according to data compiled by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. The number was the highest in nearly two decades, excluding those who died in the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 and the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.

You are confronting an armed suspect, no cover available. He faces you, with his gun at his side, pointed at the ground. Your gun is aimed at him and you’re ready to shoot. He ignores your commands to drop his weapon. Are you justified in pulling the trigger before he makes any move to point his gun at you? According to conclusions reached by researchers in a unique new reaction-time study, your preemptively shooting under such circumstances may well be considered reasonable by the standards of Graham v. Connor.

There has been an increase in residential burglary attempts and vehicle prowling in the area of Belt/Central in recent days. On 01/24/2011 at about 11:00 PM, Spokane Police Officer Jay Kernkamp was patrolling the area in an attempt to locate any possible suspects and deter additional attempts. Officer Kernkamp saw a man, dressed all in black, sitting in a parked vehicle with its lights off.

Spokane Police Foundation
The Spokane Police Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation formed by local business leaders to support the mission of the Spokane Police Department. www.spokanepolicefoundation.org
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Body-Worn Cameras and Memory
Body-worn cameras can’t replace an officer’s perceptions, but they can be extraordinarily valuable when they confirm the presence of weapons, capture resistance, and verify de-escalation attempts. What’s more, it is expected that the presence of cameras encourages people on both sides of the lens to be the best version of themselves as they interact.
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Updated: Sep. 27 (11:08)

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AFSCME Local 132