1. Why are so many videos popping up now?
Police brutality is timeless in America. However, because of the demonstrations, many more agents are now being deployed, and bystanders are all recording that. I see it when I am at the demonstrations. Everything is live streamed there.
And it is also allowed, isn’t it? You can film agents. You may not hinder their work, but nothing can be done against just filming. Protesters keep telling each other, because there are also officers who make it a problem. Those videos then spread rapidly on social media, because everyone is talking about it now.
2. So an agent is now almost standard filmed?
Yes, that is the culture that has now emerged. People of color in particular do it, because they feel threatened and can tell their side of the story. And that is not for nothing. Americans of color are more often the victims of police brutality. And there are regular agents who are caught explaining lies.
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Like today in Buffalo, New York. Officers first told that an older protester had tripped, but the footage clearly shows that the white man was being pushed hard by two police officers. Thanks to the video, the agents are prosecuted.
3. Are there also risks associated with filming agents?
Yes, you simply see an incident from a certain point in time, so an image is selective. The clearer the video, the clearer the story. Look, you couldn’t get around the George Floyd video, for example. Then it doesn’t matter what happened before.
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But there have also been cases in which the images of the police themselves gave a different perspective. Although they are not always on, American agents wear a bodycam. For example, the images of a cop may show that a suspect made a move, possibly toward a gun. This can be used by the police in a court case as a defense.
4. How important are the videos in court?
Very important. Videos can also make a difference in old cases. We saw that when Ahmaud Arbery, the jogger who was shot in Georgia this February, was killed. Two suspects were not arrested until May, when only the footage of the shooting surfaced.
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And you also saw it in the case of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald from Chicago. He was shot dead by an officer in 2014 for walking around the street with a knife. The authorities did not publish the shocking images of the incident for a long time, but they came out 13 months later. Then it became clear that the situation turned out to be different.
The images show Laquan being shot at sixteen times, even when he had been on the ground for a long time. There was no question of a seriously threatening situation. The agent became convicted of manslaughter and received a prison sentence of almost seven years.
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5. Do the videos change the appearance of the police?
Yes, some of the Americans say very clearly, you see, the police are not your friend, the police even pose a risk. I also have friends of color who are really afraid of any contact with the police. They cross the street when they see a cop, or walk an extra block.
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At the same time, we must not forget that we have given the police this monopoly on violence. The police are there to prevent crimes and to keep order. For that they are prepared to take great risks. Dozens of officers are killed at work every year. The police continuously assesses whether or not to use force.
If an agent feels threatened at any given time, he has a certain space to act upon it at that time. That is why it is so difficult to prosecute them.
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