ZeSpectre
Member
In reading this article (text posted below) I couldn't help but think about how there is probably someone out there who would think that requireing a "gun cam" on every weapon would just be a good thing too.
:banghead:
Anyway the article is interesting and the video at the bottom is priceless.
------text of article------------
See Taser Lightning Strike Twice
By Aaron Rowe| Also by this reporter
02:00 AM Jan, 19, 2007
Taser International is introducing a new camera accessory that records audio and video whenever the electronic stun gun is armed.
The Taser Cam attachment is equipped with a camera and microphone, an integrated laser sight, a white LED flashlight and an infrared illuminator.
Taser says the new device will be an asset to civil libertarians and police agencies -- but the biggest beneficiaries may be the producers of reality TV shows.
The Taser Cam slips into the handle of the electronic stun gun like the battery pack on a cordless drill. When it is inserted, the Taser cannot be armed and fired without creating a video record of the events preceding and following a shooting.
As Taser points out in a series of commercials aimed at police departments, the Taser Cam could help arbitrate disputes about the use -- or misuse -- of force. It may also increase accountability.
"This is where cameras do good: when they lessen a power imbalance," says Bruce Schneier, a leading security researcher and chief technology officer of BT Counterpane (Schneier is also a Wired News columnist). "Imagine if they were continuously recording the actions of elected officials -- when they were acting in their official capacity, that is."
Another new model of the stun gun, designed for self-defense and personal use, was on display at CES International 2007. This model comes in colors like metallic pink and electric blue and, as ABC reporter Amanda Congdon discovered, is not for the faint of heart.
Currently, the Taser Cam's video footage can be transferred to a computer with a USB cable, but for most police departments, turning in the footage is voluntary.
Schneier suggests that the footage recorded by a Taser Cam should be automatically uploaded to a digital vault so that officers cannot tamper with evidence that would incriminate them.
However, a study by the International Association of Chiefs of Police has shown that 96.2 percent of officers are exonerated from misconduct charges when video evidence is available.
"The video can only be uploaded or removed from the Taser Cam by special software that is available to supervisors only," says Chief Larry Black of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office in Arizona. "This is to preserve the integrity of the video and chain of custody in an investigation."
Prime-time TV is full of police reality shows. Will the Taser Cam become a source of entertainment like the dashboard cameras in patrol cars?
"As a TV producer, any new camera usage is of interest to me," says John Langley, the creator of the television show Cops and the Court TV series Video Justice. "Technology breeds better coverage, perhaps too much coverage on occasion."
Although Langley has already produced an episode of Cops with a Taser theme, appropriately titled "Tased and Confused," Langley thinks it would be hard to do an entire show with a Taser Cam theme.
"As a tool for law enforcement -- and evidence in trials -- it would seem to me to have great potential appeal," he says. "The danger of this sort of thing is to see it end up on Jackass III."
:banghead:
Anyway the article is interesting and the video at the bottom is priceless.
------text of article------------
See Taser Lightning Strike Twice
By Aaron Rowe| Also by this reporter
02:00 AM Jan, 19, 2007
Taser International is introducing a new camera accessory that records audio and video whenever the electronic stun gun is armed.
The Taser Cam attachment is equipped with a camera and microphone, an integrated laser sight, a white LED flashlight and an infrared illuminator.
Taser says the new device will be an asset to civil libertarians and police agencies -- but the biggest beneficiaries may be the producers of reality TV shows.
The Taser Cam slips into the handle of the electronic stun gun like the battery pack on a cordless drill. When it is inserted, the Taser cannot be armed and fired without creating a video record of the events preceding and following a shooting.
As Taser points out in a series of commercials aimed at police departments, the Taser Cam could help arbitrate disputes about the use -- or misuse -- of force. It may also increase accountability.
"This is where cameras do good: when they lessen a power imbalance," says Bruce Schneier, a leading security researcher and chief technology officer of BT Counterpane (Schneier is also a Wired News columnist). "Imagine if they were continuously recording the actions of elected officials -- when they were acting in their official capacity, that is."
Another new model of the stun gun, designed for self-defense and personal use, was on display at CES International 2007. This model comes in colors like metallic pink and electric blue and, as ABC reporter Amanda Congdon discovered, is not for the faint of heart.
Currently, the Taser Cam's video footage can be transferred to a computer with a USB cable, but for most police departments, turning in the footage is voluntary.
Schneier suggests that the footage recorded by a Taser Cam should be automatically uploaded to a digital vault so that officers cannot tamper with evidence that would incriminate them.
However, a study by the International Association of Chiefs of Police has shown that 96.2 percent of officers are exonerated from misconduct charges when video evidence is available.
"The video can only be uploaded or removed from the Taser Cam by special software that is available to supervisors only," says Chief Larry Black of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office in Arizona. "This is to preserve the integrity of the video and chain of custody in an investigation."
Prime-time TV is full of police reality shows. Will the Taser Cam become a source of entertainment like the dashboard cameras in patrol cars?
"As a TV producer, any new camera usage is of interest to me," says John Langley, the creator of the television show Cops and the Court TV series Video Justice. "Technology breeds better coverage, perhaps too much coverage on occasion."
Although Langley has already produced an episode of Cops with a Taser theme, appropriately titled "Tased and Confused," Langley thinks it would be hard to do an entire show with a Taser Cam theme.
"As a tool for law enforcement -- and evidence in trials -- it would seem to me to have great potential appeal," he says. "The danger of this sort of thing is to see it end up on Jackass III."
