A panel of criminal justice experts is encouraging Yale University to require all police officers to wear body cameras.
In a newly issued report, the panel says, "In addition to documenting all incidents, the obtained videos could be useful training tools."
"I don't see what would be the downside of that. I mean, it would definitely provide more evidence," said Yale senior Yusu Liu.
The panel was formed to review the university's response to a controversial incident that occurred in January between an officer and a student.
During that incident, reports show the officer pulled his gun and ordered the student to the ground before realizing he was not the burglary suspect police were looking for.
An internal affairs investigation found the officer acted appropriately and did not engage in racial profiling.
The panel reviewed that decision and the police department's use-of-force policy before issuing several recommendations, including the use of body cameras.
Local
Police body cameras are a topic of conversation around the country in light of incidents ranging from the take-down of a handcuffed teenage girl in New Haven earlier this month to deadly encounters like the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri last year.
"I don't see any negatives to it. I mean, we'd have hard evidence as to exactly what happened rather than different stories from the student and police," said Ali Stephens-Pickeral, a junior at Yale.
"I think that the problem has more to do with a systemic issue of racism than whether or not body cameras can prove what happened, because we have video proof of other incidents happening with police officers and that doesn't really clear up the issue anymore," said Yale graduate student Carolyn Rolleston.
Just one supervisor per shift at Yale is currently required to wear a body camera as part of a trial program the university has implemented.
It's not clear if the recommendation to require all officers to use body cameras will become a reality.
The university declined an interview and the university's police chief did not respond to our request for comment.
