More than a year has passed since Osceola County deputies shot and killed a 20-year-old man accused of shoplifting $46 worth of pizza and trading cards — and we still don’t know what really happened.
I’m not here today to debate whether the shooting was justified. Investigators and prosecutors are still working to determine that.
What I will say, though, is that it’s ridiculous that investigators will never have access to video footage from any body cameras that day.
Officers should’ve been wearing body cams to capture everything. But they weren’t. And it’s important for you to remember: That was a choice made by the department. And it was unusual.
See, this shooting didn’t happen back in 1992 when cameras were bulky and flip phones were the norm. This happened in 2022, when most police departments and sheriff’s offices considered body cameras standard. Osceola, however, has never been like most departments.
While other cities and counties invested in cameras — to build trust with the communities and collect evidence for prosecutors — Osceola dragged its feet. First under former Sheriff Russ Gibson. Then by current Sheriff Marcos Lopez.
So now — with a man dead, lawsuits flying and investigators still looking for answers — we don’t have all the information we should. All because of conscious choices. Either because the officers didn’t have cameras or didn’t have them on.
The sheriff’s office said this week that Lopez is now working to get cameras for his entire force. That’s swell, but way overdue.
And if another deadly incident transpires tomorrow involving Osceola deputies, there’s a solid chance there won’t be any video evidence once again. As of this week, the Osceola sheriff’s office says it has issued only 285 cameras to its 478 sworn officers.
Even more stark: Of the 50 school resource officers on the job, the office says only 17 working in high schools are wearing body cameras.
That’s on the heels of Lopez offering conflicting stances about whether he wanted his officers wearing them. (See this story from 2021: “Osceola sheriff backtracks on support for equipping school deputies with body cameras” where Lopez said: “I don’t think they’re needed.”)
Osceola sheriff backtracks on support for equipping school deputies with body cameras
It’s good that the office says Lopez now believes they’re needed force-wide. But he and his predecessor made the choices that left us without cameras in this deadly shoplifting case last year — and in most Osceola County schools to this very day.
Cameras aren’t perfect. They don’t always catch everything. And they can be turned off at inopportune times. But I’ve been talking with police chiefs and sheriffs about this for a decade, and most agree the benefits are extensive.
Cameras help prosecutors secure convictions and keep the bad guys behind bars. They vindicate cops who are subjected to bogus complaints and give members of the public fuller stories if they suspect a cop left crucial details out of his or her official report.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said his best cops usually liked having recordings of their interactions with the public — that it was “the bums” who got nervous; some ultimately deciding to leave the job. Other chiefs said that simply letting suspects know they were on camera sometimes quieted them down.
Basically, cameras make many people behave better. Everyone has known that for years.
In fact, by 2018, Osceola was one of the few major offices in Central Florida that didn’t have cameras as standard-issue equipment.
Commentary: Body cameras for police are now the norm … except for a few Central Florida holdouts
That was a choice made by Gibson until he left office in 2020 and by Lopez in the years since.
And it’s one investigators and maybe even jurors will now have to wrestle with as they consider a lawsuit from the family of 20-year-old Jayden Baez.
Family members say deputies used “excessive, unreasonable and unnecessary force” in response to a shoplifting call. The department says the officers were under threat; that the suspect was in a car that was trying to ram the officers’ vehicle.
Osceola sheriff, deputies facing lawsuit over deadly Target shooting
If you were an officer who was forced to shoot and kill someone, wouldn’t you want the video that shows precisely the danger you were facing when you decided to pull the trigger?
Now, think about who wouldn’t want video evidence. In this case or any other.
And just remember that most any time that evidence isn’t available — for a jury, for prosecutors or for members of an angry or distraught family — that missing evidence is the result of a choice someone made.
smaxwell@orlandosentinel.com
