Boston's police commissioner, union spar over body cameras

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Boston's police commissioner, union spar over body cameras

Denise Lavoie, Ap Legal Affairs Writer

Updated 5:22 pm, Tuesday, September 6, 2016

BOSTON (AP) — Boston's police commissioner squared off in court Tuesday with the leader of the city's largest police union over a plan to have 100 officers wear body cameras, as lawyers for each side accused the other of having "unclean hands" in a long-simmering dispute over police accountability.

A pilot program was scheduled to start last week. But after no officers volunteered, Commissioner William Evans ordered 100 officers to wear the cameras. That prompted the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association to ask a judge to issue an injunction to halt the program until a new agreement can be negotiated.

Union President Patrick Rose testified Tuesday that the city violated its agreement with the union when Evans assigned officers to what was supposed to be an all-volunteer program. Rose acknowledged that he told members not to volunteer for the program before the union had reached an agreement with the city. But he insisted that once the agreement was reached, he encouraged officers to volunteer.

. . .

Kay Hodge, a lawyer for the city, suggested that the union deliberately failed to encourage its members to volunteer for the program.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Boston-police-union-city-headed-to-court-over-9204436.php

[Hoyt]

1. It's time all police wear a camera, period. Would like to see any armed person do the same.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

2. Maybe, just to be safe, everyone should wear one, all the time.

Even unarmed people can do damage, with skills and/or motivation.

Dogs, too. Dogs should all wear body cameras.

To be safe.

[Whiskeytide]

3. Serious question ...

... (Although I'd LOVE to put a camera on my dog just for the entertainment value). The "all armed persons should wear a camera" hyperbole aside, what is the argument against all law enforcement personnel wearing body cameras? Other than "I don't want there to be a video", I can't think of one.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

4. I'm all for police wearing cameras.

And, I'm all for police losing the balaclavas, and not covering their badge numbers. They should be identifiable.

My post was just expanding on the hyperbole.

A camera on the dog? 22 hours of sleeping, 1 hour of licking and scratching itself, 1 hour of sniffing other dogs' butts. It's low-grade entertainment. Maybe on a farm dog that runs loose all the time. That could be fun.

[Whiskeytide]

5. Oh, you don't know my dog...

... He's no country dog, and there is plenty of sleeping and scratching, But the futile squirrel pursuits are already hilarious from my point of view. They must be priceless from his. And the kitchen cabinet slams? You'd think he'd figure out tile floors present a traction issue by now (age 3). And any body cam would have to be waterproof. He hasn't quite learned that jumping in the pool is actually the reason he's not allowed back in the house until he drip dries - always causes him extreme confusion and feelings of rejection.