As someone who is averse to being photographed or recorded, the ubiquity of camera phones and other recording devices is unsettling. And while I’m still not likely to “selfie” in public or private, I’ve come to accept that the age of recording just about everything serves a purpose.
But whether that purpose serves good or bad still—after all this time— remains to be seen.
When actress Daniele Watts recently claimed she was targeted by Los Angeles police because she is black and they are racist, her boyfriend posted photos and video on social media as proof of the allegation.
The images depict a wispy Watts in handcuffs and seemingly crying while a white officer appears to be speaking to her in an almost casually patronizing way, like a college professor explaining to a freshman why a crumpled and beer stained term paper is not acceptable.
As might be expected, outrage and indignation erupted during the first few hours after the story circulated. After all, it’s not unheard of for blacks to contend they are targeted and harassed by police. It’s also not uncommon for some of those allegations have been substantiated.
Fortunately, for Sgt. Jim Parker’s sake, he too recorded the encounter though it wasn’t with a camera but an audio recorder.
In the audio Parker’s tone is that of one who has other things to do, explaining to Watts and her boyfriend that he is responding to a call from a third party that the couple are having sex in their car in broad daylight.
“People having sex in the car, no biggie. No one wants to arrest anybody,” Parker told The Hollywood Reporter.
But cops have a job to do and that includes responding to calls whether they want to or not.
In the audio Watts brings up the issue of race and suggests Parker is racist. She also managed to work in that she had a publicist, which given that it’s in Los Angeles and she is an actress is relevant, though to whom I’m still not sure.
Watts ended up in handcuffs because she left the scene.
“I’ve been here before, I’m not touching her. I don’t want to be accused of anything. So I requested a female officer and said, ‘Hey guys, grab that female on the phone and bring her back to me,’ ” Parker said in the same story.
And where is here?
It’s probably a place where cops are accused of being racist or abusive despite behaving as cordially and professionally as possible. Or it could be that place where you’re accused of a crime even though you were nowhere near the vicinity or, at the very least, you were minding your own business. Wherever it is, I know it’s no place I’d want to visit.
Wherever it is, I suppose I have to be thankful that in this day and age we have devices that let us capture the whole picture so reputations and lives aren’t ruined.
