b'F E A T U R EWhat (We Think)We Know About Body Cams Canadian research is needed to examinehow officers operate body worn camerasBy Dr. Ajay Sandhu and Dr. Sara K. Thompson, Ryerson UniversityI n body-worn camera footageofficers wearing riot gear. Mock, whoMock case (Malm, 2019; Scheindlin & releasedinearly2021,had bragged about beating up copsManning, 2015). In recent years, such viewerscanwatchBrianonhissocialmediaaccount,wasargumentshavepromptedseveral Mock,a42-year-oldmaneventuallyarrestedforhisactionslarge Canadian police services to trial from Minnesota, aggressivelyduringtheU.S.Capitolattacks.1Theor expand their trial of BWCs.shoving a police officer to the ground.Mock case is one of many examplesThough the optimism surrounding After a brief pause, Mock proceeds toof body-worn cameras (BWCs) beingBWCsisnotwithoutsubstance, violentlykickthegroundedofficer.usedtoobservethegrittyrealitiesresearchexaminingthelarger Mockparticipatedinthenow- ofpolicework.ByallowingforimpactofBWCsismixedand,as infamous attack on the United Statesdetailed observations of police-citizensuch,generalconclusionsaboutthe Capitol,whichfeaturedtenseandinteractions, BWCs create new oppor- technologyspotentialcontributions sometimesviolentclashesbetweentunities to document and assess policetopoliceaccountabilityandofficer policeofficersandsupportersofwork and to collect and store evidencesafety remain uncertain. Large gaps in former U.S. President Donald Trump.of crime.the knowledge base remain, includ-In a second video, Mock, who woreProponents of the technology argueingunansweredquestionsabout ahoodieandagreenhatwithanthat BWCs hold the potential to detertheoperationofBWCs(Lumetal., American flag symbol stitched into it,policemisconduct,deliverimproved can be seen shoving another officerpolice accountability and contribute to1https://www.npr. to the ground before a larger crowdofficer safety by documenting violenceorg/2021/06/23/1009650274/new-body-camera-footage-shows-the-vio-of protestors crash against a line ofagainst police officers, as in the Brianlence-against-police-during-the-capitol-rio 18 H.Q. Winter 2021/22'