Video at the Scene of the Crime

Posted on September 12, 2010 in DUI Arrest

We have all watched (at least for a few minutes) those programs on TV about wild police chases. Most of the footage for those shows comes right from the police officers’ dash cam video recorder. Ever wonder why you never see any Phoenix Metro Police footage?

The answer is more disturbing and sinister than many of us are comfortable with — the fact is that most police vehicles in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe and Mesa do not have any dash cam video recorders. In an era where anyone can get a Radio Shack digital recorder for only $35, isn’t it interesting that more of Phoenix Metro’s police officersdon’t have a dash cam in their vehicles? It turns out that many of them used to have dash cam video recorders, but the devices were removed. Many people believe that the video recorders were removed because the video would often contradict a police officer’s account of a particular pull over or interaction.

So, rather than teach police officers how to write better reports, or encourage truthful testimony, it is possible that a decision was made to remove the evidence of the officers’ mistakes (or lies). That’s right! Rather than fixing the problem, each police department may have found it more advantageous to remove the evidence of the problem– the dash cam’s!

In addition to jeopardizing officer safety, removal of the dash cam video recorders appears to be an outrageous tactic used by the local police force in Scottsdale, Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa to cover up problems within the department, rather than face them head on.