“There is little debate that all patrol officers should be issued BWCs,” wrote attorney Eugene Ramirez in a white paper his law firm issued on so-called body worn cameras (BWCs). Ramirez is correct that there is little debate. In the wake of the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., the bandwagon for a body camera mandate has never been bigger.
The chattering classes and political elite agree: we need a “Mike Brown law.” And like any proposed law named after a dead youngster, it’s an urgent call to mandate something now. But there should be a debate, because costs, benefits, and unintended consequences matter.
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