Police

Would You Take A Stand For Your Client? (Video)

Body cams may not be perfect, but it's better than the alternative.

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Lawyers are advocates. Representatives of their clients. Lawyers are there to stand between their client and an adverse party, whether it be another citizen or the government. All lawyers are aware of this, but how many actually live up to this standard? How many lawyers will actually commit to being a shield for their clients when face-to-face with the government?

Houston attorney Lema Barazi is such a lawyer. In the below video, Barazi is captured facing off against the police, refusing to allow them to enter the home of her client without warrant or probable cause. The police threatened to arrest Barazi and she still refused entry. She was placed in handcuffs and arrested as shown in this video.

What is really interesting is what Barazi says happened after she was placed in the squad car:

In the end, Barazi said the officers made her a deal in the back of the patrol car. They would not file charges against her, if she agreed to not report them to internal affairs. Barazi was let go. No charges were filed Sunday.

The Houston Police Department denies that claim. And Monday, an HPD spokesperson [said] the officers did nothing wrong.

Barazi said she plans on filing an internal affairs complaint after all.

Nothing like a bit of quid pro quo bribery from an agent of the government.

This is yet another “But for video” scenario that continues to shed light on the actions of bad actors in police forces. While I know Elie seems to think that body cams aren’t the answer for police misconduct, they are a step in the right direction. How many scenarios like the one above take place that are never heard of? Never known? Mandatory body cams at least would provide a starting point for people.

Are body cams perfect or a panacea to all the problems that arise when there is a questionable altercation with police? Of course not. Would bad actors manipulate or stage altercations so that their body cams are blocked or turned off or suffer from “data corruption.” Of course.

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But the alternative, the one we currently exist in, is hoping that a bystander happens to be around to whip out their smartphone and capture whatever happens when there is a disagreement between a citizen and a police officer. Hoping that you are lucky enough to have your interaction with police officers taped is not a solution. I’m not a fan of a pervasive surveillance state, but if there is going to be a part of the public arena that I want to always be documented, it’s when I interact with the enforcement arm of the government.

Some police officers will undoubtedly continue to behave as they wish (as seen in the video), but others will likely mollify or adjust their behavior once they know their actions are being captured in 1080p.

As has been said before, there is no Mencken solution to the problem, but mandatory body cams are a start.

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