Going To Prison For Not Turning On Body Camera

Just a few days after I published “It’s Never Enough,” that discussed the never ending demands on law enforcement, I discovered one of the most sinister demands that has taken the form of a legislative bill in the state of Tennessee.

Before I discuss the most hateful and anti-police legislation attempts I have ever seen, you need some context on body cameras.

Bad Intentions…Terrible Results

The idea of body cameras seemed like a Star Trek episode a decade ago and today, 85% of the cops in America are wearing one and the industry boasts a 7.5 billion dollar value that is expected to double in five years.

But the idea of demanding body cameras for law enforcement was not driven by a quest to make a multi-billion dollar industry by providing that “free” body camera attached to a lifetime of monthly data storage costs but rather the cries of racist cops.

Following Ferguson, a legal and justified shooting, the rhetoric hit a fever pitch and body cameras became a mandatory mechanism to ensure accountability to law enforcement. Frankly, I believe that the technology may have saved the profession from the damage that the constant lies were doing and years later, it’s obvious that body cameras did not produce the “bad” cop mantra that some might have hoped for.

That is exactly why we are beginning to see legislation that is designed not to hold cops accountable, but throw them in prison for an administrative infraction.

Devil In The Details

A bill currently in the Tennessee legislature was placed in the criminal justice subcommittee this week. HB1522 makes it a felony, punishable up to 15 years in prison, when a law enforcement officer fails to turn on their body camera.

Specifically, the bill says this:

This bill adds to the above the Class E felony of a law enforcement officer, with the intent to obstruct justice, to turn off, disable, fail to turn on, or operate a law enforcement recording device, including a law enforcement body camera, in any manner that prevents the creation of evidence.

If you aren’t sure what the bill actually means, that is actually the point.

Every state has laws when. evidence is destroyed from an existing investigation but to mirror that law into “the creation” of evidence is pretty wild. While video footage has the potential to be evidence, the vast majority of videos will never be used for evidence. Are you beginning to see the problem here?

What rises to “intent to obstruct”?

What if the officer simply forgot to activate the camera in a high stress and dynamic situation?

What if the camera malfunctions? Does the burden of proof remain on the officer?

What Is Happening?

Let me be as clear as I can here. This bill is not about accountability. Law enforcement is subject to more accountability than any other profession. From our background investigations to several levels of management, review boards, internal investigations, constant recording and a host of other accountability tools inside the profession, it laughable for anyone to believe that the intent in this bill is pure.

Human performance research has been well documented and we know without a doubt that a “turn it on" or else mandate will result in some incidents where an officer was in a situation where the camera wasn't activated and it had nothing to do with destroying evidence that had not yet been created.

Listen To The Podcast Episode On This Issue

The only reason this type of legislation would be introduced it to use it as a weapon against the profession in the hopes that more cops will go to prison. Keep it mind, we aren’t talking about 3-15 years in prison for excessive force, assault, violating civil rights, or a host of other crimes.

This bill advocates throwing cops in jail for what could possible be considered a policy violation (depending on the policy).

The Future of Tennessee

It’s pretty amazing to me that these type of actions are happening and we don’t hear anything from our organizations or prominent leaders. Those that know exactly what this will do to the profession should be shouting at the rooftops, if they actually care about the profession.

While we wait for those cries, I’ll explain exactly what will occur if this bill passes as written.

Law and Order in the Volunteer State will be over.

How could anyone take the chance working in law enforcement in a state that has that law? It won’t happen overnight but new hires will avoid Tennessee and current law enforcement professionals will either leave or do as little as they possibly can to avoid running foul with a law designed with the sole reason to throw them in jail.

Conclusion

Body Cameras have been a game changer for our profession but not in the way the anti-police crowd wanted. They simply didn’t give them the “gotcha” moments they so desperately wanted and we now find ourselves here.

If you think this is isolated to one state, think again. Nothing happens in a bubble and this idea is so ridiculous, it’s hard not see this as the beginning of what is to come.

When administrative rules turn into criminal incidents, that seek to ruin the lives of our employees, the writing isn’t on the wall.

The wall is crumbling down.

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Dr. Travis Yates retired as a commander with a large municipal police department after 30 years of service. He is the author of “The Courageous Police Leader: A Survival Guide for Combating Cowards, Chaos & Lies.” His risk management and leadership seminars have been taught to thousands of professionals across the world. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy with a Doctorate Degree in Strategic Leadership and the CEO of the Courageous Police Leadership Alliance.