Proposed: Gun Cams For NY Cops

A New York state Senator has proposed providing cops with miniatures cameras attached to their guns which would turn on whenever the gun is unholstered. The technology has been around for awhile, but recent cases like NYC's Sean "50 Shot" Bell shooting have renewed calls for its implementation.

In a flash, a police officer draws a handgun from its holster. Less than two seconds later, a red laser and bright light shine at whatever is in the gun barrel's path while a mini-camera records it all.

That's how mini-cams on police handguns would work under a proposal gaining support in New York, which would be the first state in the nation to require the technology. State police were briefed on the technology and are reviewing it for a possible pilot program, said Michael Balboni, the state's deputy secretary for public safety. The device could create a critical visual and audio record of police shootings for use in court, said state Sen. Eric Adams, a Brooklyn Democrat and former police officer. He is drumming up support for testing the cameras with the state police SWAT squad.

Adams said recordings from the $695 cameras couldn't be altered by a police officer and would quell many questions after controversial police shootings, like the deaths in New York City of Amadou Diallo in 1999 and Sean Bell in 2006.

$695 per camera versus how many hundreds of millions paid in wrongful death suits? Although I can see some cops arguing that the presence of the cameras might cause them to fatally hesitate.