Toronto Police Captured on Youtube
TORONTO – Toronto Police shot a teenager last night on a Toronto Transit Commission Streetcare last night. Almost instantly, a video was uploaded to Youtube that captured the scene. Toronto Police had members of the public watching and recording the stressful situation. The actions of police are completely legal for a member of the public, or a member of the media to record in the performance of their duties.
The posted video has raised questions as to the actions of police in the choices they made. Some media reports are suggesting that it was like a scene out of the ‘Wild West’.
Video is almost everywhere
The role of recorded video and its impact on police is huge. This week an RCMP officer will find out his fate over the death of a man in Vancouver who died after being tasered by Police.
The Special Investigations Unit is set to investigate the shooting. That is standard policy in any police shooting. However the questions already being asked in public forums is likely to set the direction for the investigation.
The difficulty for police officers doing their duty is that they are in the public eye all the time. The number of people carrying smart phones with ever increasingly sharp cameras is growing all the time.
For the media, police and the public this is a changing field and is likely to continue to be challenged by all sides. The media and the public are likely to demand increased access and police will be seeking to control the flow of information.
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