SAN ANTONIO – Following the national coverage Tuesday of a fatal Bexar County Deputy-involved shooting, KSAT 12 contacted the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, or CLEAT, to inquire about the impact of cameras on policing.
Gilbert Flores, 41, was fatally shot on Friday by two deputies, and the shooting was captured on cellphone video.
The mission of CLEAT is to protect the rights and interests of its law enforcement members.
CLEAT initially told us it did not want to comment on the case or the video.
However, during the interview CLEAT Executive Director Charley Wilkison referenced that video.
“People may pick up a cellphone and film at 200 feet or yards away with a telephone pole in the way,” he said. “They’re not there. They’re not in the place. Officers are doing their job just like they always did."
Wilkison said videos shot by non-law enforcement show one angle of a scenario, but suggested video captured by dash cameras or body-worn cameras on officers would capture the true story.
“It’s just going to prove up, in the end, when the whole video was seen that the officers are out there to protect the public and they do a very difficult job in a very violent world,” Wilkison said.
He believes videos captured by citizens are not an opportunity to hold officers accountable but simply opportunistic.
“It’s going to be people standing at one perspective, using their camera generally for hire,” said Wilkison. “They’re going to be trained to get on the news. They’re going to try to get a news organization to pay them.”
He adds cameras have not changed the way officers are trained or how they protect and serve.
"They’re less concerned whether you’ve got an iPhone and you’re (videoing) them because they’re going to be doing the right thing for the right reasons,” he said.
CLEAT supports the use of body cameras.
Bexar County commissioners approved funding for body cameras for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office force on Tuesday.