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New Add-on Activates Body Cameras When Officers Unholster Their Weapons

posted by Fnord666 on Sunday March 12 2017, @11:06PM   Printer-friendly
from the shooting-and-shooting dept.

-- OriginalOwner_ writes:

TechDirt reports

Taser, the company, gets a lot of cop love because of its titular product, which is deployed (too) frequently to subdue arrestees. It probably doesn't get as much love for its body cameras, especially since it's already wired one line to sync footage with Taser deployment.

Its cameras are going to get even less love now. Taser's latest product looks to ensure no shooting goes unrecorded.

To ensure accountability during police encounters, Axon, Taser's police body camera division, has announced a small sensor for gun holsters that can detect when a gun is drawn and automatically activate all nearby cameras. The sensor, Signal Sidearm, is part of a suite of products aimed at reducing the possibility that officers will fail to or forget to switch on their cameras during encounters with the public.

This isn't a welcome development for cops who'd rather have every shooting/killing go unrecorded. And it's probably not going to be picked up by many departments as it's an aftermarket add-on that serves the singular purpose of accountability.

[...] Say what you will about Taser's taser, but its camera division (Axon) continues to make strides towards better law enforcement accountability. In addition to the gun-out, camera-on clip, Axon has also made body/dash cameras that begin recording when squad car doors are opened and/or the cruiser's lights are turned on.

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 12 2017, @11:27PM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 12 2017, @11:27PM (#478246)

    A gun that can't fire unless the bodycam is recording.

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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 13 2017, @12:22AM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 13 2017, @12:22AM (#478259)

    Also a broken wireless connection due to interference could get people killed. Fortunately jamming is illegal, so at least we know criminals won't take advantage of this, but it could easily occur by accident.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 13 2017, @02:47AM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 13 2017, @02:47AM (#478296)

      Fortunately jamming is illegal, so at least we know criminals won't take advantage of this,

      Lolwut?

      If a cop's gun jams, the person they tried to shoot at goes to jail?

  • (Score: 2) by Bot on Tuesday March 14 2017, @07:23PM (1 child)

    by Bot (3902) on Tuesday March 14 2017, @07:23PM (#479085) Journal

    Oh, so you hate meatbags too?

    From another perspective (literally) how about a GUN CAM? You heard it here first.

    --
    Account abandoned.