Police body cameras aren't always bad news for accused, lawyers say
More New Brunswick officers will be wearing cameras when interacting with the public
Last week, the Fredericton Police Force announced its six-year pilot program with body cameras was successful, and it equipped all of its front-line officers with the technology.
The Saint John Police Force plans a full rollout this summer. RCMP began testing body cameras this spring in three detachments, none in New Brunswick.
Fredericton police Chief Martin Gaudet said the cameras increase transparency, help gather evidence and protect the officers.
Two defence lawyers say that though police technology is meant to strengthen evidence gathered, it's not all bad for the accused. And sometimes, it doesn't even make it to trial.
An example is the trial of Matthew Raymond. He was found not criminally responsible for shooting and killing Donnie Robichaud and Bobbie Lee Wright, and Fredericton Const. Sara Burns and Const. Robb Costello, who responded to calls of shots fired in 2018.
One of the officers was wearing a body camera, but because Raymond had already admitted to the shooting, and the footage did not help explain his state of mind, it was not relevant enough to the issues at trial.
Defence lawyer TJ Burke says body-camera footage from the arrests of people charged with the first degree murder of Justin Breau in Saint John is playing part in the prosecution that's currently underway.
Defence lawyer TJ Burke says body cameras can also help police officers when they are accused of a crime. (Hadeel Ibrahim/CBC)
Burke and defence lawyer Gilles Lemieux said body-camera footage seems to make the biggest difference in impaired driving cases. This is because those cases rely heavily on the police account of how impaired the driver was acting.
"When you have a body cam, especially if there's sound, you can not only see the person having difficulty, but you can hear their speech," Lemieux said. "It certainly makes it more definitive."
Burke said this makes questioning the basis of the arrest more difficult, but it can be useful if the officer has not followed proper procedure or shows something that police testimony might not include.
"Sometime the evidence that a police officer describes in writing is not always the evidence that you see," Burke said.
"The visual of the body-worn camera sometimes is different than the way the police officer describes it."
Lawyer Gilles Lemieux says privacy concerns come with any new technology. (Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)
In cases of dangerous driving, Burke said, camera footage can help get to the heart of the matter more quickly.
Before cameras, courts had to rely on officers' descriptions of how the alleged offenders were driving.
Now, judges can see with their own eyes. This way, lawyers can go straight into arguing whether the driving captured on camera was indeed dangerous.
"In this particular case, the use of the body-worn camera footage is useful to the defence and the Crown," Burke said. "It's not always a slam dunk case whenever there's body worn camera footage."
When officers become the accused
Burke also defends police officers when they become the accused. He said if they are accused of misconduct or assault when arresting someone, their own body camera footage would be key evidence.
"It's an officer safety tool," he said.
Even though it has some benefits to the accused, Burke said, just like any other policing tool, the cameras help the prosecution more than the defence. In New Brunswick, any charge police want to lay must first go through the Crown's office.
Before proceeding with a charge, prosecutors review all evidence in a case to decide if there's a reasonable prospect of conviction.
Information Morning - Saint John 12:58 Burke said if body camera footage shows a police officer, during an arrest, failing to give someone the right to speak to a lawyer, for example, the Crown can decide against laying the charge, without that footage ever making it to court.
People are allowed to file a request to view body cam footage that shows their arrest, Gaudet said.
Lemieux said he doesn't see body cameras disrupting the way the justice system works. He said it adds accountability and like all technology, has its pros and cons.
Looking ahead, he said he does have some concerns about privacy, especially for people caught on the camera but not involved in the investigation.
Gaudet said the force has policies about privacy, such as turning the cameras off when entering a school or a hospital.
Burke said he has also seen an improvement in how well footage is edited to obscure personal information and the identity of minors.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
"RCMP began testing body cameras this spring in three detachments, none in New Brunswick."
Go Figure why I try to record everything
Steven Coppersmith
Reply to David Amos
Why are you always getting involved with the police?
David Amos
Reply to Steven Coppersmith
They picked fight with me in 1982 after asking me to testify at a Coroners Inquest and it continues to this very day
Ralph Linwood
Reply to Steven Coppersmith
If you are honest, polite and having nothing to hide, there really is no reason to take a video. Just do as your told and all will be fine. Most people that are recording their interactions seem to have some kind of objective to portray the police in a bad light when in fact they are breaking the law.
Richard Huntington
Reply to Steven Coppersmith
Because he is angry with his life choices that have lead him into conflict with the authorities and he is incapable of blaming himself, finding it easier to blame others.
David Amos
Reply to Richard Huntington
I wonder if that is your real name
Anna Greene
Reply to David Amos
41 years ago....and you still hold a grudge? Or could it be that you are anti-authority and continue to find yourself in a place where you have contact with police.
David Amos
Reply to Anna Greene
Reply to David Amos
David Amos
Reply to Anna Greene
David Amos
Reply to Anna Greene
"Fredericton police Chief Martin Gaudet said the cameras increase transparency, help gather evidence and protect the officers."
Yea Right
David Amos
Reply to David Amos
I have a copy of a cop body-cam video talking about me to a friend they had falsely arrested
Steven Coppersmith
Reply to David Amos
Yes 100% true. You will be recorded.
David Amos
Reply to Steven Coppersmith
Go Figure why I am keeping a record of this
Anna Greene
Reply to David Amos
"you" should not have that. The police, lawyers and your friend should.
David Amos
Reply to Anna Greene
Are you sure about that?
Mike More
Reply to David Amos
They don’t?
David Amos
Reply to Mike More
I hope they do because I have already have a record of this on the internet
Reply to David Amos
Reply to Anna Greene
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"Defence lawyer TJ Burke says body cameras can also help police officers when they are accused of a crime."
What if they prove the cop is a crook?
Steve Freeman
Reply to David Amos
Firstly the officer will get supended with pay and milk the system for a few years.
Then the officer will quit just before the police service fires him/her.
Andrew Stat
Reply to David Amos
Then they get suspended, with pay. Different rules for them.
Ralph Linwood
Reply to David Amos
Then that footage will be used to prosecute them.
David Amos
Reply to Steve Freeman
Bingo
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Ralph Linwood
Dream on
David Amos
Reply to Andrew Stat
Yup
seems in this day & age it's alot easier to just play the video of what happened than have an officer scribble 3 pages of notes in a little book and try to describe it.
David Amos
Reply to Daniel Henwell
Only if the video is complete from start to finish
Ralph Linwood
Reply to David Amos
Indeed. Of course this goes both ways. Maybe the people cherry picking parts of public / police interactions should post the entire video to provide context, not just the part where the mean coppers took the guy down "for doing nothing".
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Ralph Linwood
Check my work
Shawn Tabor
Reply to Shawn Tabor
oops, forgot to turn the cam on ..
Axon would likely be a good investment, over a Billion in Sales last year ...
Content Deactivated
Reply to Scott A.
Reply to Steven Coppersmith
Reply to John Lawrence
Ralph Linwood
Reply to Mick Fontana
Reply to Robert Hartman
Reply to Ernie Parks
Reply to G. Timothy Walton
Reply to Norm Head
...
But just to make sure we're on the same page, when you said "'poor' criminaIs", you were referring to the poIice, right?
Reply to Dan McIntyre
In the USA however bystanders cameras have been detrimental when it comes to recording interactions. George Floyd's 9 minute suffocation from a cops knee on his windpipe pops into mind while the cops mysteriously lost the recordings on their body cams.
Reply to Mike Barkman
Reply to Roger Pritchet
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From their discussion of results: "a sizeable proportion of the sample chose a career in law enforcement because of the excitement associated with the career as almost 78% wanted a career with interesting or exciting work, 45% watched the police at work in their communities, about 27% were drawn by popular entertainment media portrayals of the career, and 7% selected the career after seeing it first-hand through a ride-along or college internship."
I was thinking of a different survey, though. That one was done at a police academy in Quebec about 10 years ago. I remember reading the news report but I couldn't find it now. But I found this one and it has remarkably similar results, despite being done much more recently and in the USA.
Yes, that’s because saying things that aren’t true is a natural display of human nature.
Reply to Nick Bean
A person (cop), who accepts the product of th e f t, in payment to enforce vict imle ss laws (h armin g pea ceful people) is not to be trusted.
Censorship is not a virtue John.
Clearly someone can't handle a difference of opinion.
Would it have been better to buy millions of dollars worth of equipment upfront and then find out you're cancelling the program 3 years later?
They both said now the judge gets to see and hear it all . There is always some one trying to instigate an excessive force complaint.
No wonder the advocates and activists don’t want them.
Huh? Anti-poIice brutaIity advocates and activists have been calling for these cameras for ages.
Police ask 'why' in Raymond interrogation, but get little in response
Matthew Raymond is facing four counts of first-degree murder in Fredericton shooting
Hadeel Ibrahim · CBC News · Posted: Oct 13, 2020 9:44 AM ADT
"Canadian law allows police to lie during an interrogation."
A task I would never trust a poIice officer with.
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Lol, love how he just tries to reinvent history. Body cameras for police in general have been brought in everywhere for ONE reason---too many people getting hurt or killed by police during some of their "interactions" with the public.
George Floyd, as a prime example, is why there are body cameras on police everywhere these days.