In New Orleans, Armand Bennet, 26, was shot in the forehead during a traffic stop by New Orleans police officer Lisa Lewis. However, the police department did not reveal until much later that Lewis turned off her body camera just before shooting Bennett. Bennett survived and has now been charged under prior warrants for his arrest. It also reviewed that Lewis had had a prior run in with Bennet who escaped about a week earlier.
New Orleans Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas called the late disclosures on the shooting simply a “snafu.”
Lewis’ lawyer says that she turned off her camera because she was heading back to the station at the end of her shift and that the shot was fired during a scuffle after the stop. Bennett’s attorney says that there was no scuffle and that Lewis fired a second shot as Bennett ran away.
The two had been in a scuffle a week before and Bennett had gotten away. The NOPD then issued four warrant for Bennet and those warrants were the basis for the stop.
Putting aside the merits of the officers claims, I am still unclear why these body cameras can even be turned off by officers. The point of a body camera should be that it runs from check in to check out. It should not be under the control of the officer to guarantee a record that cannot be challenged by either side. That would avoid the troubling appearance of an officer with a prior run in with a suspect who turns off her camera minutes before shooting the suspect in the head.
Kudos: Michael Blott
Source: Fox8
She should be fired and not to be rehired because her story is all a lie. She knew at the moment when she turned off her bodycamera, she had intentions of shooting him. To shoot someone in the forehead, she had to be very close, she’s a liar and the truth isn’t in her.
By the way, the use of the word “Thug” is just another way of calling blacks the “N- word” so STOP!
Cindyb62 – a couple of things 1) Wild Bill Hickcock hit someone in the heart at 75 yards, so I wouldn’t jump on your shooting close theory 2) thug comes from the word thugee and has nothing to do with blacks. Thugs come in all races. So turn off your black privilege. 🙂
Everyone needs to watch Chris Rock’s ‘How not to do get your ass kicked by the police’
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QR465HoCWFQ#
As officers who encounter emboldened thugs are made into villains, the thugs become more disrespectful and emboldened. This case was not like Fergerson; a difficult thug, who had warrants for incidents involving firearms, drugs and resistance to LEOs was again being a threat to an officer. We need to carefully consider how we portray the authority of our LEOs, so that they remain respected. Dealing with a ‘Bennet’, is NOT the same thing as dealing with an unarmed kid eating skittles or stealing a few cigarettes!
cops been killing black me for years as long as they got that badge they will get away with murder, but trust if a black man kills a cop he gets the death penalty or life. its a dirty business that will keep going on until a cop kills a rich white man then it will be a problem until then we just keep watching the news another brother lost.
Regardless of intent or possible innocence Lisa Lewis should be let go for such a significant procedural failure.
Also to call this a “Snafu” is both an indictment of the NOPD and the city’s government at large. Its gross that an oversight failure like this can be attributed to business as usual, but the failure to recognize this as a policy failure is gross and stupid.
Don’t take your camera off until you are off duty. People literally don’t trust the police anymore.
People have not trusted the police in NOLA for a long time.
Is it really a good idea to describe you department’s procedures as: Sityuation Normal; All F#&%ed Up; aka SNAFU?
The reason to allow officers to turn off the camera is so that they can protect themselves when they decide to do something illegal. People will complain, yeah, like in this case. But nothing will come of it.
She should be fired.
What about bathroom breaks? Camera on or off?
We interrupt our programming momentarily, so that we may abuse an innocent victim.
He will be cleared of all charges and followed department policy.