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August 13, 2007

Baltimore camera captures a shooting

From baltimoresun.com: (sorry the link doesn't work anymore)

Its a rare occurrence, but cameras in Baltimore caught a man being shot during a drug deal. As a result, three men were arrested and two handguns were found in the car.

"It's just another case showing that the cameras are effective," said Sterling Clifford, the Police Department's chief spokesman. "The cameras can't do everything. They can't replace other evidence and they can't take the place of good police work. But they provide an opportunity to make an arrest quickly and to get the right guys."

In December, police detectives used camera footage to track down a suspect in the beating death of a drifter. Officers have also been able to make quick arrests in armed robberies and assaults in at least four publicized cases this year.

State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy has, through her spokeswoman, criticized the police camera footage, saying the quality is sometimes too poor to be useful in criminal prosecutions or does not clearly identify a suspect.

Police have said that the video is an invaluable tool for detectives, and they called the footage of Wednesday's shooting a shining example of the cameras' effectiveness. The video appears in good quality, and shows a well-lighted downtown area, taken from a camera posted at Park Avenue and Mulberry Street. Some letters and numbers on the license plate of a 2003 Toyota Camry that the gunman is seen getting into are readable.

Posted by rshah at August 13, 2007 09:13 PM

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