Orange County Sheriff’s office released body cam footage of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida on June 12, 2016. During the terrorist attack, Omar Mateen killed 49 and wounded 53 people. Mateen pledged allegiance to ISIS as he held people hostage.
SOFREP spoke with a veteran police officer with 26 years of experience regarding body cam footage from the Pulse nightclub shooting. Here is his perspective on the video:
My first would be the quality of the video and what exactly you see. From reading the article, a great deal was redacted for obvious reasons, but what we do see is the camera looking at the floor. This shows that body cams are not going to be the “be all and end all” for police encounters. They will definitely give another perspective, but not what most critics of police are going to want. They are going to move, get knocked off etc etc. There will be many tech folks that will talk about ‘go-pro’ and the like, but the requirements of these cameras with regards to recording time, durability, ease of use, security and many other factors make it difficult to get the perfect camera.
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Orange County Sheriff’s office released body cam footage of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida on June 12, 2016. During the terrorist attack, Omar Mateen killed 49 and wounded 53 people. Mateen pledged allegiance to ISIS as he held people hostage.
SOFREP spoke with a veteran police officer with 26 years of experience regarding body cam footage from the Pulse nightclub shooting. Here is his perspective on the video:
My first would be the quality of the video and what exactly you see. From reading the article, a great deal was redacted for obvious reasons, but what we do see is the camera looking at the floor. This shows that body cams are not going to be the “be all and end all” for police encounters. They will definitely give another perspective, but not what most critics of police are going to want. They are going to move, get knocked off etc etc. There will be many tech folks that will talk about ‘go-pro’ and the like, but the requirements of these cameras with regards to recording time, durability, ease of use, security and many other factors make it difficult to get the perfect camera.
Secondly, the video shows just the huge task of securing the survivors, while still being safe. Some will be critical of officers searching those leaving the scene, but you have to remember, the officers still really do not know everything and suspects have tried to blend in with the victims/hostages before. Realistically, what could do even more harm than an IED in the building, but a suspect pretending to be a hostage walking out with one.”
You can watch the body cam footage in the video below:
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