Body Cameras Can’t Be Trusted

Eye-On-The-Ball

All immigration officers on the ground in Minneapolis will be equipped with body cameras, Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, said on Monday, February 2, 2026. The New York Times reported that After federal agents fatally shot Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen, Department of Homeland Security officials said there was body camera footage from multiple angles, which investigators would review.

Police Body Cameras Can’t Be Trusted

Police and official body cameras can’t be trusted. The three main reasons are:

1. The police and officials control the footage. (Think the fox guarding the hen house.)
2. There is no public oversight or control over how body camera recordings are managed.
3. There are dozens of examples of the administration and leading officials lying and promoting false narratives (despite the presence of clear evidence to the contrary).

It is reasonable to expect that future body camera videos that officials release (via secret and non-transparent handling processes) will support official accounts of incidents.

Witness Videos Matter

Witness cellphone videos have exposed blatant lies in federal officials accounts of recent fatal shootings involving federal agents in Chicago and Minneapolis.

Witness cellphone videos serve as important public records of events. And they are essential tools in establishing the facts surrounding events.

What Needs To Be Done

The current system where an agency accused of a crime is in charge of investigating the crime it is accused committing must end.

Here are a few priority initiatives to focus on:

1. A public managed system for collecting and managing Witness videos must be setup.
2. The public must have full control and oversight of investigations.
3. A system of full transparency must be setup.