Cameras the answer

Good cop/bad cop; it does not matter which a citizen might encounter. When a policeman tells you to do something, you do it. If there is a dispute of police procedure or arrest charge(s), the citizen can always follow up with police superiors, the local court system, local government or private organizations.

When there is public lack of respect for lawful authority, police are justifiably nervous for their own lives at risk and often make split-second decisions with some of those decisions turning out badly. It is not a perfect world, and such fatal tragedies will continue to happen.

Michael Brown is not an “innocent babe” in that shooting by a policeman and has a good share of the responsibility for his own death. I do not know about his personal childhood history, but it seems to me his parents also share some of the responsibility for not teaching him enough respect for police authority and the consequences if you do not.

Personal opinion: This and future fatal shootings can be severely reduced by all police wearing a body camera when confronting the public for broken laws. It makes the police know they had better be on their best behavior or risk job reprimands or even job loss.

Adverse verbal and/or physical behavior of the public offenders is captured on video and becomes evidence of any confrontation with police. One camera showing what happened with Michael Brown might have prevented the Ferguson mayhem.

Don Clark

Spokane