Title: Body-worn cameras: a useful tool for police incident reconstruction

Authors: Geoffrey Thor Desmoulin; Marc-André Nolette

Addresses: GTD Scientific Inc., 2037 MacKay Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V7P 2M8, Canada ' GTD Scientific Inc., 2037 MacKay Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V7P 2M8, Canada

Abstract: Body-worn cameras are a tool commonly used in many police departments as a way to protect the officers and the public. However, their value has sometimes been questioned. A recent case, presented here, exemplifies the way body-cam footage can be used. Using the footage in conjunction with an injury biomechanics investigation process, it was possible to show that the officers involved delivered submaximal blows in order to control the suspect rather than aiming to deliberately harm the suspect. It was also shown that the duration of the baton intervention was reasonable as the time the officer took to change his response was within the limits presented in literature.

Keywords: police intervention; incident reconstruction; injury biomechanics; body-worn camera; human factors.

DOI: 10.1504/IJFE.2019.106669

International Journal of Forensic Engineering, 2019 Vol.4 No.3, pp.226 - 237

Received: 11 Jun 2019
Accepted: 06 Sep 2019
Published online: 16 Apr 2020 *

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