Body cameras are on the verge of changing policing as we know it. But along with the promise of more transparency and accountability come tough policy choices. A particularly thorny question is whether officers who use force against individuals should be permitted to view the video footage of their encounters before writing their incident reports.
After grappling with this issue, the Los Angeles and the New York police departments are opting to permit the viewing of the footage. This decision has been met with criticism from civil rights advocates, newspaper editorial boards and academics.
Critics claim that watching the video will alter the officers' memory of the incident.