California police body camera footage can’t replace witness testimony, court rules

WHEN A WOMAN REFUSED to testify against a man accused of assaulting her, a Los Angeles County judge used the accusations she made the night of the incident that were recorded on a police officer’s body camera. 

This week, the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the judge erred by using the body camera footage to stand in for the woman’s testimony. Doing so, the court ruled, denied the accused man a chance to confront his accuser in court.