Dave Foulk Internet Flyer

Years ago, there were no such things as in-car video recorders. Lawsuits and arrest records had to rely on witness accounts and whatever kind of photographic or audio recordings happened to be made at the time. Now, police officers routinely record nearly everything they do. That is a good thing, because it keeps everybody honest.

In the case of the attack on three officers and the subsequent brawl at Walter P. Taylor Homes, releasing the videotapes before trial would be a very bad idea. Neither side in the case will have a chance to make copies of the tape, then change their statements to conform with what happened.

It’s all there. It’s on tape. Let’s bring the people to court, hear their account of things, and then play the tape. Videotapes in police cars are kept in locked boxes with only supervisors able to get to them. Therefore, there’s no monkeying around with the evidence. There are at least four, or five angles, I am told. Justice lies within the truth of the recording.

But surely a reasonable person can see how release of the tape before trial could damage the purity of testimony and of evidence, and the opinions of potential jurors. Of course the tapes should be released to the public, but in such a highly charged case, I think waiting a while will not hurt broadcasters and publishers, and might help get to the bottom of what happened.

I am less inclined to agree with the district attorney in the request for release of the videotape involving the fatal accident. A Knoxville police officer has been indicted in connection with the crash. The tape will easily show whether he had his siren operating, and probably will show whether he ran the red light at the intersection where he collided with a car in which a woman was killed. I am not sure what difference the release of that tape would make, except that it might set a precedent where Randy Nichols does not want to involve himself.