On September 30, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced that the prosecutor’s office had reviewed body camera footage and cleared a police officer of potential charges for shooting an unarmed man. The body-cam video (available from the Salt Lake Tribune) shows the man walking away from the officer before turning around and lifting up his shirt. Sim Gill said the video showed the officer was justified in his fear for his safety and the use of a firearm was reasonable.

Over the last couple months, there been heightened public scrutiny of police shootings and other actions. A properly used body-cam would record whenever a police officer is on duty. Unfortunately, no police department in Utah requires all officers to use them. This video helped clear one officer. With regular use, officers should become accustomed to having everything on tape and just behave in their usual manner.

Digital recording technology has advanced to the point that police departments throughout Utah could have every officer regularly wear a body cam. They would be invaluable in bolstering police officer testimony, and they would not be susceptible to the problems of memory. It is curious that police departments are the least bit reluctant to start requiring every officer to wear one.