Video camera on your CCW - thoughts?

[Member 75490]

company Viridian makes a flashlight and video camera attachment for a pic rail. I purchased one with the intention to use on my CCW after hearing about how in Oregon, sometimes you have to prove you were justified in a shooting. Which made me think 'well if i have video evidence of the guy walking at me with a knife, it could potentially keep me out of jail'.
However some people expressed displeasure with the idea of recording your self defense incident.
What are your thoughts on having a video camera and flashlight attachment on your CCW to provide evidence that you were in the right if ever needed?

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[solv3nt]

company Viridian makes a flashlight and video camera attachment for a pic rail. I purchased one with the intention to use on my CCW after hearing about how in Oregon, sometimes you have to prove you were justified in a shooting. Which made me think 'well if i have video evidence of the guy walking at me with a knife, it could potentially keep me out of jail'.
However some people expressed displeasure with the idea of recording your self defense incident.
What are your thoughts on having a video camera and flashlight attachment on your CCW to provide evidence that you were in the right if ever needed?

It's only going to work if you're actively pointing it, so unless you're brandishing, the video will only be of you shooting.

 

[Member 75490]

It's only going to work if you're actively pointing it, so unless you're brandishing, the video will only be of you shooting.

well lets say you pull it out before shooting.. and the clip captures what the threat looked like and why you reacted like that

 

[solv3nt]

well lets say you pull it out before shooting.. and the clip captures what the threat looked like and why you reacted like that

It won't be much. If you're justified in pulling, you're justified in shooting, otherwise you're brandishing.

 

[Camelfilter]

...after hearing about how in Oregon, sometimes you have to prove you were justified in a shooting...

That's pretty much standard legal practice everyehere.

Not exclusive to Oregon...

 

[Member 75490]

It won't be much. If you're justified in pulling, you're justified in shooting, otherwise you're brandishing.

yeah, im saying this could be the difference to PROVE i was justified in shooting

 

[Member 75490]

That's pretty much standard legal practice everyehere.

Not exclusive to Oregon...

didnt say it was lol

 

[USMC1911]

Seems like it could work against you as much as it could work for you. If your shoot is anything less then a very clear case of self defense that video is gonna crucify you. A good shoot is a good shoot and ya won't need a video to prove it.

 

[Knobgoblin]

If clear video of any life/death interactions is the goal, you probably just want a body cam . Seems extreme, but this little gun camera is simply a poor execution of the same concept.
My opinion.

 

[Member 75490]

Seems like it could work against you as much as it could work for you. If your shoot is anything less then a very clear case of self defense that video is gonna crucify you. A good shoot is a good shoot and ya won't need a video to prove it.

Sometimes you do. Guilty until proven innocent. Especially in anti gun liberal areas... sometimes they just see a guy dead and another guy with a gun that killed him. And they have to explain what happened and hope the police believe them

 

[VinnieBoomBah]

Everything old is new again

When body cams had bullets

Just as GoPros have given us a whole new perspective on everything from extreme sports to animal behavior, so have body-worn cameras offered new insights into policing. Law enforcement agencies around the world now use body cams to record the activities of officers in the field, though they've...

www.engadget.com

 

[Stomper]

yeah, im saying this could be the difference to PROVE i was justified in shooting

You're approaching this all wrong…. The state has to prove you weren't justified, not the other way around.

 

[Lethal Defense]

The gun camera can occasionally cause reliability of gun function on occasion from what I hear. A DA can also try to twist it into you were so blood thirsty you wanted video of your kill. While a "body cam" may be better, that too looks odd to a jury as a citizen waking around with one.

If you argue self defense, you still effectively must prove you were justified ie the threat to you was imminent, you were otherwise innocent, and your use of force was proportional to the threat. And each and all of that must be reasonable. If the DA knocks out just one of those factors, you were not justified. See also Andrew Branca, Esq.

 

[salmon creek gary]

If you draw before the need is clear, such as just to be sure of getting the situation recorded, then your own recording becomes evidence that is very likely to be used against you to support a charge of brandishing. But, set that aside for now. Let's say that you - appropriately - only drew your firearm in response to behavior that you saw clearly to be a lethal threat. Sadly, that threat will not be recorded because that threatening behavior took place before your gun camera ever came into play. As someone mentioned earlier, your recording will just be proof positive that you did indeed shoot your firearm at Dobad.

Even if the recording clearly shows Dobad armed with a gun or a knife, that is dangerously ambiguous evidence because it began too late to answer one critical question: Did you draw because Dobad was threatening you, or did Dobad draw his gun or knife in self defense when he saw you slapping leather? You already know what Dobad's surviving family members will fervently believe, and that's what their shark will argue in the inevitable civil suit. You can only hope that a hungry prosecutor won't decide to use your video to press the same issue in a criminal trial.

Your video will also leave you very vulnerable to excessive force charges. Exactly how many shots were actually required to stop the threat, when exactly was it stopped, and did you shoot again after the threat ended? It is all in the recording and it is - every millisecond of it - open to interpretation. Although you had scant seconds to react, your own recording gives prosecutors (and the family's sharks) evidence they can leisurely review an unlimited number of times before picking that one little part they'll argue is proof that you done wrong, wrong, wrong.

Maybe better if no recording existed at all? Way too late in my example to regret making that recording; it is a cat that cannot be stuffed back into the bag. The good news is, we're just talking now, so no shooting has occurred and you can decide for yourself - right now - if having a gun camera is a good idea . . . or a really bad idea.

 

[Member 75490]

If you draw before the need is clear, such as just to be sure of getting the situation recorded, then your own recording becomes evidence that is very likely to be used against you to support a charge of brandishing. But, set that aside for now. Let's say that you - appropriately - only drew your firearm in response to behavior that you saw clearly to be a lethal threat. Sadly, that threat will not be recorded because that threatening behavior took place before your gun camera ever came into play. As someone mentioned earlier, your recording will just be proof positive that you did indeed shoot your firearm at Dobad.

Even if the recording clearly shows Dobad armed with a gun or a knife, that is dangerously ambiguous evidence because it began too late to answer one critical question: Did you draw because Dobad was threatening you, or did Dobad draw his gun or knife in self defense when he saw you slapping leather? You already know what Dobad's surviving family members will fervently believe, and that's what their shark will argue in the inevitable civil suit. You can only hope that a hungry prosecutor won't decide to use your video to press the same issue in a criminal trial.

Your video will also leave you very vulnerable to excessive force charges. Exactly how many shots were actually required to stop the threat, when exactly was it stopped, and did you shoot again after the threat ended? It is all in the recording and it is - every millisecond of it - open to interpretation. Although you had scant seconds to react, your own recording gives prosecutors (and the family's sharks) evidence they can leisurely review an unlimited number of times before picking that one little part they'll argue is proof that you done wrong, wrong, wrong.

Maybe better if no recording existed at all? Way too late in my example to regret making that recording; it is a cat that cannot be stuffed back into the bag. The good news is, we're just talking now, so no shooting has occurred and you can decide for yourself - right now - if having a gun camera is a good idea . . . or a really bad idea.

thanks. that was helpful. im assuming its probably a good idea on a home defense gun though? Would serve the same purpose as home security cameras? lets say i hear someone break into my house, and thats when the video starts

 

[PORSCHE928S4]

Once the perp is dispatched it is your word against errrrr ummmm ?

 

[Member 53328]

Good luck finding a holster too…..unless it matches another light footprint. Personally I don't want video. If it's a good shoot then it's a good shoot. If it's questionable you probably messed up before the firearm was even presented.

 

[PORSCHE928S4]

Good luck finding a holster too…..unless it matches another light footprint. Personally I don't want video. If it's a good shoot then it's a good shoot. If it's questionable you probably messed up before the firearm was even presented.

Just take a selfie afterwards with the bad guy those selfie sticks are cheap !

 

[Member 53328]

Just take a selfie afterwards with the bad guy those selfie sticks are cheap !

The camera at the end of the gun would have the prime angle for the selfie. Just take a freeze frame of your desired position/shot placement. I'm sure it would go well for you in the courts. Then turn the gun at yourself and smile with a thumb held up in the air. Nice and proud. Say "Look mom I did it! Are you proud of me now?!?"

 

[Knobgoblin]

Just take a selfie afterwards with the bad guy those selfie sticks are cheap !

Hakuna matada?