[Kevin Gibson]

The new iProtect system from Beretta is very interesting. By placing various sensors in various places on the pistol, it can become somewhat of a "Black Box" for what has happened. It can also alert dispatch under certain circumstances (weapon drawn, safety off, shots fired, etc).

Given all the controversy for LE shootings, if I were a cop today, I would welcome such a system with open arms...but that's just me.

Beretta PX4i Storm (i-Protect System) - The Firearm Blog

 

[t-star]

one drawback I can see is that the leo would be so afraid of the repercussions that he would hesitate when it called for deadly force- kind of like verifying the rules of engagement when the bullets are incoming- another is that you'd have to provide some kind of "deadening" if the leo's gun is "taken away" by the bad guys or a civilian rendering aid to the downed officer- I know these are rare circumstances, but I think we've been down this road before

 

[Charlie Petty]

What I see are a bunch of things that can fail. It looks like gathering information for IA after the fact and does nothing to absolve or convict an officer.

I'm glad I'm not a cop today either but I think I'd rather have a body camera that turns on when the gun is drawn

 

[CaptainGyro]

I live with serious recording devices every minute of my professional life, recording hundreds of aircraft parameters, my crews' voices, and all radio transmissions. Literally everything that can be recorded is recorded.

But...

The purpose of the recording is accident prevention. Unless there is evidence of gross negligence or misconduct, there is a strong bias against using the recorded data for discipline or prosecution. Because of this system, we have a pretty good idea of exactly what has caused every airline accident in recent memory, and we make changes to our machines and our training to avoid these things in the future.

That having been said, it seems that the purpose of this "iProtect" system is evidence collection, not accident prevention. It fairly screams "Second Guessing". Did the officer draw the weapon unnecessarily? Did he flip the safety off three seconds too early? Did he fire five times, when the threat seemed to have been eliminated after four?

This system is a can of worms that I would be very wary of if I were a street cop. I'd want no part of it, and I'd make sure my union had ironclad protections in place before I'd agree to carry it.

 

[csmkersh]

one drawback I can see is that the leo would be so afraid of the repercussions that he would hesitate when it called for deadly force-

That's already happening according to some CLEOs thanks to Ferguson Riot. I do wish there had been a camera at the Tamir Rice shooting.

 

[Charlie Petty]

Radio traffic was always recorded and MDTs (mobile data terminals) had been around for some years before I retired and all that data was kept too.

One of the big no-no's was any use of profanity but sometimes an expletive would sneak out. Never saw any punishment for that, but counseling sessions were routine.

One of my favorites was when an out of breath officer came on and said, "I had to fight the son of a ...... subject."