the Michael Brown thread
- Thread starter 2clicker
- Start date
Madcap79
Jack of all trades, master of none.
Wow. On both accounts.
Ferguson is a not so affluent town. Not sure if that translates to police budget or not, though.
Caligula
Maximus
Interesting assumption. Sadly, not every police cruiser has said cameras installed, which is the source of this discussion.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/14/us/ferguson-dashcams/
BTW, where are you getting this info that "modifying" this system will only be "a few hundred dollars"? I work IT and find it hard to say that with any certainty how much retrofitting these vehicles would cost. I'd need a lot more info to determine that.
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tuk
Well-Known Member
I work in IT as well & could easily rig something for a few hundred dollars even if the car could not record.
& thats off the shelf at retail prices not the bulk price the cops would get.
The whole cops cant afford to film themselves killing people thing is a complete fantasy and red herring, one striking thing about US cops when you see them is the amount of OTT kit they have attached to their bodies & all those shiney new SUVs.
The reason why the cops don't have cameras is the same reason why the cops don't volunteer the numbers on how many people they shoot...while they record every other detail eg what brand of boxer shorts a cop was wearing when he got assaulted etc...
Caligula
Maximus
A base model, $200 gopro isn't a valid option here IMO. You barely get over 2 hours of battery time with the latest Hero3 (less if you're using wifi, which would be a must) and only have a 64gb on board memory capacity (if you pay extra for it). There's a reason why the units police departments are looking into cost so much.
I'm glad you can say that with 100% certainty without further details, or taking a myriad of other factors into consideration. Typically I need to see quite a few criteria and need to discuss a lot of details with a client before coming up with a cost estimate like that.
In the meantime I'm going to go with this:
"Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson, says his department has 18 patrol cars... but the equipment hasn't been installed because the department doesn't have the money to cover that cost, he said.
A dashcam and installation runs about $3,000."
18 x $3k = $54,000. Not exactly a paltry sum for a small PD.
Also keep in mind this doesn't include the ~$600 for each "on person" camera or the monthly fees for data streaming/storage.
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aesthyrian
Blaaaaah
Well, maybe the Dept. of Homeland security can pay for the camera's instead of giving them military grade vehicles?
Caligula
Maximus
I agree. The government has stock of surplus vehicles not cameras, though.
grokit
well-worn member
I'm sure the city of ferguson could get a grant to cover the cost of installation of the car cams or to get body cams. Cameras protect the police from their own worst instincts to the betterment of the community.
The majority of these pentagon equipment transfers by $ are iud-proof vehicles right? That seems to be the most effective (non-suicide bomber) weapon for the bad guys with limited resources in overseas theater. Perhaps some conservative think-tank has decided it's inevitable that these type of attacks will be coming to the streets of the usa. The reaction is swat teams serving up mj/raw-milk warrants in full commando gear.
The majority of these pentagon equipment transfers by $ are iud-proof vehicles right? That seems to be the most effective (non-suicide bomber) weapon for the bad guys with limited resources in overseas theater. Perhaps some conservative think-tank has decided it's inevitable that these type of attacks will be coming to the streets of the usa. The reaction is swat teams serving up mj/raw-milk warrants in full commando gear.
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aesthyrian
Blaaaaah
![:\](/i/s/hmm.gif "Hmm :\")
RUDE BOY
Space is the Place
Most of the DOD hand downs are actually things like office furniture and vhf communication systems and such, not armored cars or weapons. The military kept the vehicles armored up for IEDs they actually never had that many. Nearly All this paramilitary equipment was bought by the PDs or donated to police by private concerns.
The military mainly gave away some nearly dead soft bottom humvees and outdated uniforms, furniture, trucks, hauling trailers and communication equipment
The military mainly gave away some nearly dead soft bottom humvees and outdated uniforms, furniture, trucks, hauling trailers and communication equipment
RUDE BOY
Space is the Place
The surplus supplies are DOD cast offs, DHS programs passed them along. Who knows they may give funding used to buy military style gear along with training but DHS doesn't just have a bunch of excess military equipment hanging around, they may have some old Chrysler 300s.
Caligula
Maximus
I don't know, perhaps that was just bought with DHS funding. Didn't seem to be worded that way though.
Caligula
Maximus
Yeah I would say that was built as a swat vehicle and new, and not war surplus.
My understanding was that they were retrofitted but again could just be after the fact, with funding so it wouldn't really matter I guess.
Madcap79
Jack of all trades, master of none.
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grokit
well-worn member
Ret. Marine Col: DHS Is Prepping For War With Americans
"A former Marine Corps Colonel who was stationed in Fallujah and trained Iraqi soldiers warns that the Department of Homeland Security is working with law enforcement to build a “domestic army,” because the federal government is afraid of its own citizens.
In this exclusive in studio interview Ret. Col Martino covers the DHS buildup and solutions our overreaching corrupt government officials."
It's alex jones, but he seems to at least be more as accurate than a broken clock 
"A former Marine Corps Colonel who was stationed in Fallujah and trained Iraqi soldiers warns that the Department of Homeland Security is working with law enforcement to build a “domestic army,” because the federal government is afraid of its own citizens.
In this exclusive in studio interview Ret. Col Martino covers the DHS buildup and solutions our overreaching corrupt government officials."
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