Controversial Police Video

Uproar over video of officer's scuffle: A police officer's incident with a teenager is the latest in a string of controversial encounters caught on video.
Rash of video footage incriminates lawmakers, police: An uproar over a cell phone video that shows a Seattle police officer punching a 17-year-old girl after his attempt to cite her for jaywalking is just one of several recent incidents where low-quality video footage shot by members of the public has incriminated public officials. The video, which you can watch here (warning: disturbing content), shows a young woman resisting Officer Ian P. Walsh, who was citing the woman and a friend Monday for jaywalking. Her friend attempts to intervene, inserting herself between the officer and her friend and grabbing the officer's arm. That's the moment when the officer punches her in the face. Seattle community leaders are in an uproar, saying the use of force was excessive. Officials with the Seattle Police Department say they have "questions" about the officer's tactics and are investigating the incident. But Seattle Police Officers Guild President Rich O'Neil says the officer's use of force was appropriate. The Seattle department announced Wednesday that Walsh has been reassigned pending further inquiries. The Walsh footage is the latest in a series of incidents catching public figures in questionable — and at times legally suspect — conduct. In one of the more formal such encounters this week, Democratic Rep. Bob Etheridge apologized after video surfaced of the North Carolina lawmaker reacting angrily to questions from two young men holding a camera. He hit the camera down, roughly grabbed one of the men by the arm and neck, and demanded again and again to know his questioner's name. In several other incidents, video footage has opened police to formal inquiries and criminal proceedings involving charges of excessive force. Indeed, videos are often the only way to prove cases of police brutality, where a victim's word is pitted against a cop's. A video shot by a University of Maryland student from a dorm room window showed three Maryland police beating a 21-year-old student. Police claimed the man had attacked the officers, and police charged him with assault. They have since dropped the charges, and at least one officer has been suspended in the incident. A cell phone video broadcast by the Spanish-language network Univision challenged the FBI's claims that a Border Patrol agent who shot a 15-year-old dead near El Paso had been "surrounded" by a rock-throwing group including the boy. In the video, the boy is a fair distance away when the officer pulls a weapon and appears to shoot. In Oakland, Calif., cell-phone video taken by train passengers showed a subway police officer firing a shot in the back of an unarmed man who appeared to be cooperating with the officers. The Bay Area transit officer who shot the man is now facing trial on murder charges. In response to the outbreak of incidents on camera, some police departments are trying to limit citizens' ability to record police actions. Authorities are increasingly using decades-old wiretapping laws to prevent people from filming arrests. In a dozen states, notes Annys Shin at the Washington Post, "all parties [must] consent before a recording might be made if a conversation takes place where there is a 'reasonable expectation of privacy.'" A man who filmed an officer giving him a speeding ticket was thrown into jail for posting the video of the incident onto YouTube. Civil libertarians contend that such laws do not apply to arrest, since the processing of a suspect is not a private conversation. If information from the conversation can be used in court, they contend, citizens should be allowed to film police officers.