S. Fla. death bolsters case for cameras

Another police shooting, this one in South Florida last weekend, has grabbed headlines nationally and added to tensions and distrust between minority communities and law enforcement — due in large part to some critical unanswered questions. saAgneswers to those questions might have been readily available if the officer involved had been wearing a body camera, or if his vehicle had a dashboard camera. It’s a lesson for his agency, the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department, and others in Florida — and across the nation — that have yet to adopt this technology.

Corey Jones, a 31-year-old black man from Boynton Beach, was shot and killed at 3:15 a.m. Sunday in an encounter with Palm Beach Gardens police Officer Nouman Raja. Jones was a part-time drummer whose car had broken down, after a late-night gig, on an Interstate 95 ramp in Palm Beach Gardens. He was armed but didn’t fire his gun.

Though in plain clothes, Raja was on duty and driving an unmarked police vehicle. Lawyers for Jones’ family say he was shot three times by Raja.

Questions still lingered on Thursday. Among them: Did Raja identify himself as a police officer? Did Jones approach the officer with his gun? Did he point it? What did the two men say to each other? What led Raja to shoot?

“If this officer had been equipped with a body camera, there would be evidence to show what was the confrontation — if there was one — and what happened prior to the shooting,” state Rep. Shevrin Jones told the Miami Herald. “The evidence is now up to the officer because Corey Jones is no longer living.”

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office each are investigating. Gov. Rick Scott has offered the help of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to local investigators. Leaders in the Legislature’s Black Caucus have asked for an independent probe.

The Jones family’s lawyer, Benjamin Crump, believes there could be footage available from other video surveillance cameras in the area of the shooting. If so, authorities should of course review it, and release it to the public as soon as possible. But it would be unlikely to be as conclusive as video from a body or dashboard camera.

This month, results were released of a yearlong study of the use of body cameras by officers in the Orlando Police Department. That study by the University of South Florida found that citizens’ complaints against officers wearing cameras declined by about 30 percent. Injuries to officers with the cameras and the suspects they arrested dropped even more sharply.

While some police leaders have resisted cameras, OPD Chief John Mina is not among them. “We believe the use of body cameras will strengthen community trust, improve accountability and transparency, protect our officers from false complaints and provide valuable evidence for prosecutors,” he said.

Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings, to his credit, has been phasing in 600 body cameras for his deputies. Other law enforcement agencies in Central Florida are on board, including police departments in Eustis, Mascotte, Sanford and Windermere.

Rep. Jones and other Black Caucus members are sponsoring legislation for the 2016 session that would encourage local governments to outfit their police agencies with body cameras by creating standard policies for their use. A similar bill passed the House in the 2015 session but failed in the Senate. Legislative leaders should make sure it doesn’t die again next year.

Limited federal grants are available to help cash-strapped local governments pay for law enforcement cameras. This month, the Orlando City Council voted to match an almost $500,000 federal grant awarded in September for body cameras. The combined funds will buy 450 cameras. State lawmakers could help more departments in Florida by making state grants or loans available for the same purpose.

Promoting trust and accountability from police and the communities they serve is a complex challenge. But at least one strategy — cameras — is clear.