(Apologies for the format problem on this) MANCHESTER, Coon. On the whole, police officers are far more sinned against than sinning, but that's why they're police officers, the ones with the badges and guns, the ones supposed to be the good guys. But it's a difficult job and indications are growing that many officers are not fit for it. Those indications -- largely the result of the new ubiquity of security and mobile-phone video cameras -- are getting scary. Several such indications have arisen from the recent rioting and demonstrations in Ferguson, Mo., where a white officer shot a young and unarmed black man. Of course, many people have rushed to judgment about the shooting. It is more plausible that the officer shot the young man while the young man was charging at the officer than that the officer shot him for fun. But rioting and demonstrations are no excuse for police to go wild. To the contrary, that's when police conduct must be most careful -- and in Missouri it hasn't been. The other day in Ferguson an officer was videotaped pointing his military rifle at peaceful demonstrators and news reporters, cursing them and threatening to shoot them until another officer led him away. The first officer was suspended. Another Missouri officer was suspended recently after a video of a lecture he had given was publicized. In the lecture the officer described himself as an "indiscriminate killer," adding, "I'm into diversity -- I kill everybody," and, "If you don't want to get killed, don't show up in front of me -- it's that simple." He has been placed on desk duty pending review. A third Missouri officer was suspended for commenting that the protesters in Ferguson "should be put down like rabid dogs." All three officers probably will go back on the beat when the controversy fades. There's not enough accountability in government. But Connecticut residents don't have to go to Missouri to worry about police brutality and psychologically unfit officers. Two months ago two Bridgeport officers pleaded guilty to federal civil-rights charges for their stomping an unarmed petty criminal as he lay helpless on the ground following his disabling by a stun gun. The assault was captured on video by a passerby. The city will pay the petty criminal $198,000 in damages and the two officers have resigned and have promised never to seek police work again. Enfield's Police Department is dealing with the heavy-handedness of an officer who has been investigated on complaints of misconduct 17 times in seven years. In the most recent case, cruiser dashboard video shows him pummeling a man said to be resisting arrest. The state's attorney won't prosecute either man. And last week cell-phone and security-camera video recorded a Hartford officer using a stun gun on a young man who had obeyed his command to stop and was standing still, hands at his sides, 10 feet away. The officer continued to advance on the young man and shoting the stun gun at him from 4 feet away. Even Gov. Dannel Malloy, speaking to a meeting of concerned citizens in Hartford, said he was shocked. The Hartford Police Department is investigating. For their protection and the public's, all police officers should be videotaped all the time -- and this would be easy to do, as there are not just dashboard cameras, already widely in use, but small cameras that can be affixed to uniforms and can record as much as 45 hours of image and sound. The recent death of a man who was choked to death during his arrest in New York City has prompted the city's public advocate, Letitia James, to propose equipping all city police with uniform cameras. Connecticut law should require this. If Governor Malloy really was shocked the other day, he should propose such a requirement before the November election. His Republican challenger, Tom Foley, should endorse the idea as well. It is a matter of basic accountability in government. Chris Powell is managing editor of the Journal Inquirer, in Manchester, Conn.
