As three trials this month show, more video recording of police does not guarantee convictions in police-shooting cases. In some trials, a single piece of body-camera footage illustrates competing viewpoints. And in the infamous Philando Castile case in Minnesota (protester, above), dashboard camera video did not provide a close-up view of the front seat. Was Castile reaching for a gun or not? A juror said she couldn't tell -- reasonable doubt favoring the accused cop.
From the New York Times:
“It's not the end-all, be-all,” said John T. Chisholm, the district attorney for Milwaukee County, who presented video from two officers' body cameras in the case against Dominique Heaggan-Brown, a police officer who fatally shot Sylville K. Smith in August. On Wednesday, Mr. Heaggan-Brown was acquitted. ... In the Milwaukee case, slowed-down, frame-by-frame video was used to show that the suspect had no weapon when he was shot a second time. The same video, played at regular speed, revealed a scene that was swift, confusing and chaotic, a boost to the defense.
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