State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

Better behavior on both sides of the badge

American City and County: An officer gets into a confrontation with a suspect. The incident turns violent. A crowd gathers, and several onlookers pull out their cellphones and start recording. Clips of the ugly exchange go viral. The local media picks up the story, then national news. Scores of people take to the streets shouting about police brutality, demanding accountability and justice. Regardless of the legality and appropriateness of the initial incident, the context has been lost and the divide between police and their communities widens.

It’s a story that’s played out time and time again in recent years. Ferguson. Baltimore. Long Island. Deadly police encounters under questionable circumstances. Uncertainty abounds and speculation swirls. Guilt and innocence become muddled, and mistrust breeds protest and violence. But new technologies are looking to assuage these issues.

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