A Baltimore police officer accidentally recorded himself planting drugs

&gt; He apparently didn’t realize that body cameras often save the last 30 seconds of footage before they’re manually activated. So all of that preparation for his big faux discovery was caught on tape.<p>Why do we even allow cops on duty with the camera off? Why do we give them the choice of when it will be turned on?<p>Apart from going to the washroom, or going off duty to eat lunch, I say the cameras should record constantly.

<i>&gt; Body cameras don’t always work out as many activists envisioned. Last week, the officer who shot Justine Damond in Minneapolis and his partner didn’t turn on their cameras, leaving us in the dark about what exactly happened in the case. This week, prosecutors in Cincinnati dropped charges against former University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing after two mistrials — even though body camera footage clearly showed that the man Tensing shot, Samuel DuBose, never posed a threat to him.</i><p>Cameras work out exactly as advocates said they would - exposing how corrupt police forces can be. Police officers not turning on their cameras or judges disregarding clear evidence is what&#x27;s not working out.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Who watches the watchers?<p>I&#x27;ve heard about drugs being planted before, but I think there was always some doubt in my mind that it was just an excuse by those being prosecuted. This is the first time I&#x27;ve seen solid evidence that it&#x27;s real. That is fucking terrible! How many times has this happened and put innocent people in prison? We can&#x27;t let this continue to happen when the cameras are off. We need these cameras everywhere and we need them on all the time.

That cop should get the same punishment that he tried to foist on the innocent man.<p>The level of crime we tolerate from &quot;law enforcement&quot; is astonishing. Why do people no longer care about justice?

The cop who did this is being disciplined right now but not the other two cops who stood right there and watched him do it.

What sometime happens in cases like that is that the officer&#x27;s previous arrests are gone through, and many of them thrown out as unsafe. Which is harsh and the police force concerned will absolutely hate. But that&#x27;s too bad; if you don&#x27;t want that outcome then don&#x27;t plant evidence.

While I think the cop in the video deserves discipline and&#x2F;or dismissal and&#x2F;or criminal charges, and the person accused deserves a stronger than usual presumption of innocence, the video is not hard evidence that the cop planted drugs. He may have been simply recreating his previous discovery of the drugs.<p>I&#x27;ve watched lots of youtube videos of rock hunters recreating their discoveries on camera for the sake of drama and upvotes, often admitting it. Police are surely affected by similar incentives.<p>The above argument is brought to you by someone who thinks that all drugs should be legalized, and that all cops who work to enforce drug laws are acting immorally.