The day of reckoning for corrupt law enforcement has come. "Kopbusters" and video technology has shined a much needed and long overdue, light upon their activities. by Dan Steward
(libertarian)
Sunday, January 25, 2009
I doubt that anyone could have ever foreseen the full potential of the camera phone or that of the hand held video camera when the technology was first invented. Police, be they either honest men and women or pure villains have definitely paid attention to the recent deadly shooting of an unarmed young man in the BART subway station in Oakland, California on New Year's Day.
If you harm others, if you engage in nefarious activities on company time, if you violate the rights and liberties of your fellow human beings in the commission of your duties, you are more likely now than ever, to have your misdeeds recorded and played back to a public that is nowadays much less likely to be continually gushing over you and your tarnished badge.
With this in mind, those of you in law enforcement on any level should welcome Barry Cooper and the crew of Kopbusters to your town. You are no longer in good conscience going to be able to support the "thin blue line" as the rules are changing. You may live in denial if you like and bask in the days of unpunished police malfeasance yet, with each passing day, odds increase that you will be filmed. People will see you harming your fellow human beings. Folks will catch your live streamed antics on qik.com or other video venues.
Kopbusters along with other personal camera technology and websites, presents the greatest chance yet for honest police everywhere to purge the incompetent, the larcenous, and the outright wicked element from their ranks. All that is needed is to make the right and honest choice to do what is moral and move to eliminate these types from your offices. Ask yourself if you really want or need all the bad publicity your department would get if the BART shooting happened in the town where you work.
To all law enforcement out there, wishing to stay out of trouble, my advice is that you behave as though your every act on the job is being recorded and uploaded to youtube for your friends, family, and peers to see.
With Liberty,
Dan Steward
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