CASES CAPTURED ON VIDEO

With the advent of the Video Age, amateur photographers are increasingly engaging in what the director of one video trade group calls “the democratization of surveillance.” Meanwhile, law enforcement officials are themselves jumping onto the video bandwagon; they frequently tape demonstrations or other events where their actions might be questioned.

The results have been mixed. Some tapes have sparked public outrage and resulted in criminal charges against police officers or hefty cash settlements for those who claim they have been the victims of police brutality.

But, at other times, videotapes have helped justify the conduct of police. The following is a look at some cases of alleged police brutality captured on videotape.

* Department: Laguna Beach police. * Incident: Kevin A. Dunbar, 25, was arrested last June outside a loud party at a South Laguna home. A local resident videotaped the arrest. The tape showed a police officer kicking four times at a man--said to be Dunbar--who was lying on the ground. Dunbar was charged with resisting arrest. * Disposition: Charges against Dunbar were dropped in January. A $10-million civil claim against the city of Laguna Beach is pending.

* Department: Long Beach police. * Incident: Black activist Don Jackson, a former Hawthorne police officer, drove through Long Beach in February, 1989, while an NBC camera crew followed. When police stopped Jackson, the camera crew videotaped a white police officer shoving Jackson into a plate-glass window, shattering it. The tape generated nationwide publicity. * Disposition: The officer has been charged with assaulting Jackson. Both he and his partner are charged with falsifying a police report. Jury selection began Monday in Long Beach Municipal Court.

* Department: Los Angeles County sheriff. * Incident: Seven members of a Cerritos family allegedly threw rocks and bottles at sheriff’s deputies during a melee that occurred at a bridal shower in February, 1989. Videotapes taken by two neighbors showed deputies in riot gear clubbing people who had been handcuffed and made to lie face down on the driveway and front lawn. * Disposition: Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner, saying the group had degenerated into “a mob,” investigated and filed charges against the family members, ranging from inciting a riot to assault with a deadly weapon. All are awaiting trial. Meanwhile, the family and other guests at the shower have filed a civil suit against the department.

* Department: San Bernardino County sheriff. * Incident: Five Mexican nationals alleged that they were beaten by deputies at a June, 1988, party in Victorville. A neighbor’s videotape showed deputies swinging their fists and using batons to subdue several men. * Disposition: The men filed a brutality lawsuit and settled for $745,000.

* Department: Torrance police. * Incident: Thomas Tice, 20, of Torrance was arrested outside a party in 1988. Another party-goer videotaped the arrest. The tape showed one officer holding Tice in a chokehold, while another hit him eight times with a baton. Tice was beaten into unconsciousness. The tape showed that the officers continued to choke and hit him after his body went limp. * Disposition: Tice pleaded no contest to charges of disturbing the peace. He and five others who sued settled for $105,000.