This is the latest high-profile instance in which body cameras, touted as tools for holding police accountable, have failed. Prosecutors and the public can now rely on bystander footage to get a better picture of what actually happened.
One expert suggested that vendors could make adjustments to prevent accidental camera deactivations. However, it is not clear if this was what Lyoya experienced. Some activists also said that an accident seemed unlikely. Lyoya’s family, and her attorneys, say that it is a good example of citizen video. Lyoya’s passenger captured the shooting using a cellphone and a doorbell camera.
“Keep filming the police, transparency is important for them and sure it’s important for us,” stated Ben Crump an attorney for Lyoya.
Lyoya was lying facedown on Lyoya’s ground when the officer shot him in the head April 4.
Police released body camera video this week showing the initial stop and the officer stating that the vehicle’s license plate was not registered. The video shows Lyoya trying to flee and then a struggle with the officer who repeatedly reminds him to stop. Lyoya is seen holding onto the stun gun of the officer at one point. The officer shouts at Lyoya to stop.
The video then turns black. The video then goes black.
There are many reasons official sources may have limitations. For example, the restricted view of the Grand Rapids dashcam or the fixed perspective of a surveillance camera. Computer system issues prevented authorities from viewing or recording footage on security cameras at the station where the subway stopped following Frank James’ alleged attack.
However, other cameras within the system also worked and provided crucial evidence.
Eric Winstrom, Grand Rapids Police Chief, stated that officers must hold the button on the camera for three second to turn it off. He stated that the button was pressed many times in the case but the screen went black at the moment it turned off. This is what activated it.
Experts in body cameras said that it was unintentional.
“That officer is engaged in a full-on fight with that citizen. “And I’m sure turning off the camera would have been the least of his worries,” Michael White, an Arizona State University professor and co-director of technical assistance and training for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Body-Worn Camera Policy and Implementation program, said.
White could not think of any other case where an officer’s camera had been accidentally turned off during a struggle.
Sometimes, however, cameras can be removed from officers’ uniforms.
Grand Rapids police use an Axon Body 3 camera. It has a large circular button at the front that is surrounded by a narrow ridge. The button is slightly receded. To record, officers tap the button twice and hold it down for three second to turn it off.
Axon stated that it is still “committed to the development of technology and training to public safety”, but declined to comment on the matter, citing the investigation.
Michelle Gross, a Minnesota activist and president of Communities United Against Police Brutality was one of those who doubted the officer’s camera had been accidentally turned off. She cited the recessed button.
A police accountability expert agreed. Sam Walker, a former professor at the University of Nebraska Omaha called the camera’s activation “suspicious” so it should be investigated.
Bystander video was critical in the May 2020 murder of George Floyd. It helped bring attention to and document what had happened. Derek Chauvin’s camera was damaged during a struggle with Floyd, a Black Minneapolis police officer. Chauvin was convicted of murder after video from a teenager bystander and the body cameras of other officers.
The 2019 arrest made of Elijah McClain was a Black man who was killed by officers in suburban Denver. All three officers were wearing body cameras and they fell off during a struggle. Although the cameras recorded audio, there was no video to confirm a police claim that McClain grabbed one of the officers’ guns. Paramedics placed him in a chokehold, and administered the powerful sedative Ketamine to him. Later, he died in a hospital.
Sometimes officers deliberately turn off their cameras. Louisiana Master Trooper Chris Hollingsworth, a Louisiana Master Trooper, turned off his body camera during a car chase. He was fired for violating several policies.
White stated that some body cameras have mechanisms to prevent accidental activation. For example, you need to press the button three times. White said that if the officer who killed Lyoya was wrongly deactivated his camera, it wouldn’t surprise him if major vendors began working on modifications such as voice activation or additional manual mechanisms. He stated that companies have come up with solutions to stop body-worn cameras being stolen, including stronger magnets.
Ayesha Bell Haraway, an associate professor at Case Western Reserve University, and co-director for the school’s Social Justice Institute said that officers can be charged if there is no video. In bringing charges without video evidence, prosecutors will rely on the reasonable officer standard. This examines whether an officer would believe that his or her life, or the lives of others, was in danger.
She stated that “the absence of video at the critical moment gives no window to place us in that moment.” “It puts us back to where we were, relying on an officer’s word.
Bell Hardaway stated that bystander video is becoming more important in these cases.
She said, “I shudder to think about the lack of accountability that exists within a world without technology.”
