Page 7 - TPA Journal May June 2022

is introduced greatly influences how it is seen by the viewer. The good news is that this can work
both ways. Consider the way in which videos are introduced: at a press conference, a chief or a

public information officer simply changing the prefatory sentence from “the police video from Officer

Smith” to “video of suspect John Doe resisting Officer Smithʼs attempted arrest” changes the focus

of the person viewing it. For the viewing public and for jurors, the “star” of the video has shifted in
an instant. This tactic is not intended to decrease any focus on, or attention to, the actions of offi-

cers involved. It is, rather, designed to help focus the attention of the public on the individual who is

truly the catalyst for the events portrayed: the suspect.

The Illusion of Control

Ironically, referring to the suspect as “the catalyst for the events being portrayed” brings up
our second issue, that of who is truly in control of an incident portrayed on video. Control is a word

often used incorrectly when related to law enforcement, especially in the use of force arena. During

any contact with the public related to a call, the police are never in control of the encounter. While
they valiantly try to influence the decisions made by the citizens with whom they deal, the encounter

goes the way the citizen decides.

Picture, if you will, a typical police-criminal interaction for a moment. The encounter starts

out as a traffic violation. Officer Smith sees a vehicle run a stop sign. Smith pulls behind the viola-

tor, activating his overhead lights to initiate a traffic stop. The officer is signaling for the driver to
stop. Even at this initial point in the encounter, it is the violator, not the officer, who determines

whether to pull over and comply or to press the accelerator and flee. If the driver chooses to stop,

when Officer Smith checks the identification and determines that the driver has a warrant for his

arrest, who decides if the driver goes peacefully? Who decides if there is a foot pursuit? Who
decides if there is a physical altercation? Exactly as before, it is the violator who makes those deci-

sions. The officer is reacting to the violatorʼs choices. While the officerʼs behavior and decisions can

influence the choices made by the violator in question, the control and final decisions belong to the

citizen.
In any video, and on every call, the officers are, at most, supporting actors, directly tied to

the lead role always played by the citizen. While culturally there is a belief that police officers are in

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