The Purpose of Body Cams is to Surveil You Not Exonerate You. [Audio exoneration re-mix sold separately]. Here, the first minute of body camera footage doesn't include audio. Why? The camera’s microphone wasn’t turned on yet. Deputy Chief Richard Bash explains that's a result of the camera's technology. "The first 60 seconds will not have any audio because that is the lookback feature," Bash says. "So as soon as an officer activates their camera, the video portion goes back 60 seconds. The audio doesn’t start ‘til the officer actually activates his camera." [MORE] and [MORE]

Columbus Cops can apparently can turn "their" bodycam on and off like a light switch. Although both officers were wearing body cameras at the time, only one camera was on at the time of the shooting. The second camera was turned on shortly after. [MORE] Policy is for officers to activate the camera at the start of an enforcement action or the first reasonable opportunity to do so. [MORE]

The audio in the Jones video starts after he's already been shot. [racists are masterful liars & this "lookback" shit smells like "bullshit, but white jurors won't have ears to hear] 

From [HERE] and [HERE] A lawsuit alleges Ohio police shot and mortally wounded a black man without justification and conspired to provide misleading information about the July 7 confrontation. Besides money, the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Columbus seeks an injunction against “the use of excessive and unreasonable force and the extrajudicial shooting of civilians, particularly African-Americans.”

Columbus police say two officers spotted 30-year-old Kareem Ali Nadir Jones walking between cars and behaving erratically that evening. Police say they fired when his behavior escalated and they perceived a threat from Jones, who had a gun. It is not clear whether they knew he had a gun when they first encountered him. Police did not articulate how exactly they were threatened by Jones. Although cops claim they tried to stop him the video shows cops exiting their cruiser with their gun already drawn.

The federal civil rights lawsuit filed Thursday by his sister, Marica Phipps, alleges that Jones presented no threat and that Officers Samuel James and Marc Johnson repeatedly fired “without cause or provocation” and violated Jones’ constitutional rights. James is Black and Johnson is white. [MORE]

“It’s our contention that these two officers executed Kareem Jones,” said Andrew Stroth, one of Phipps’ attorneys.

In the bodycam footage, Jones faces the two officers in a yard while running backwards and sideways with his arms outstretched as the cops chase after him.

He eventually turns around, starts running with his back towards James, and reaches behind his back.

Both officers open fire, leaving Jones immobile against a fence. He died three days later.

Many questions remain, such as why did the cop already have his gun drawn before he got out of his cruiser [see photo above]? Had he already shot Jones through his driver side window which was down in the video? Did Jones ask the cop 'why did you shoot me before the audio comes on?'  Did Jones reach for a gun because he feared for his life after already being shot? He was walking in between what cars? [MORE]

Police say witnesses reported that Jones didn’t follow officers’ commands to get on the ground. They say a stolen 9mm handgun was recovered at the scene.

In one of the videos, James explains what happened to an additional officer at the scene.

"We roll up, we’re talking to him, and we see a bulge in his waistband under his shirt and we say, 'That’s gotta be a phone.’ And as we let him walk towards this girl, we go, ‘Is that a gun or a phone?’ I’m recording all this by the way," Jones says. "Anyway, he draws down on him, he pulls his f*cking gun on us." [MORE] Huh? didn't cops say the gun was in his waistband and that he was reaching for it when he fired?

Racist suspect Jason Pappas, the president of the local police union representing the officers, called the lawsuit’s allegations baseless and said police are trained to draw their firearms when a suspect is armed.

“There’s no question here that what they did was absolutely appropriate and in compliance with their training and the law,” he said.

The lawsuit also alleges that the city is liable for Jones’ death and that Columbus police have practices and policies that allow for or encourage unreasonable force, despite a previous U.S. Justice Department lawsuit against Columbus over its use-of-force practices nearly two decades ago. The Justice Department dropped that matter in 2002 after concluding Columbus had made policy changes to help curb racial profiling and excessive force by police.

The mayor’s office said the city can’t comment on pending litigation.

Phipps’ lawsuit seeks an order to block city policies and practices found to encourage use of unreasonable force. It also seeks an unspecified amount in damages.