Editorial: Body cameras may refocus the debate

Let’s start with the obvious: The local police are overwhelmingly professional and polite, and they faithfully uphold their sworn duty to protect all of us.

The fact that there are some bad cops outrages us, as it should. The issues in Ferguson, Mo. and New York City have created the impression — fairly or not — that officers are held to a different standard than the rest of us. The mere idea that they can do wrong under the color of authority, and never be caught or punished, is a bitter pill to swallow.

This is why we wholeheartedly support the push by President Obama — and seconded locally by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) — to spend $75 million to help local police departments purchase body cameras.

The cameras would serve a dual purpose. First, bad cops will be less likely to follow through on their baser instincts if they know their actions are being recorded. And second, a record of an arrest will cut down on frivolous claims filed by less-than-innocent perpetrators whose cries of police brutality vanish into the incorruptible lens of a camera.

As an added bonus, police departments may also be able to use the footage as a public-education tool, showing the good work that 99% of their officers do on a daily basis. Sounds like a good deal to us.