Let me preface this comment:

• I believe police brutality is endemic, although severity varies
• I believe racism has been institutionalized, sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously
• I believe black people are targeted more than any other race (on average, experiences will vary by location), regardless of perceived predilection towards criminality, and that statistics back that up
  

That said, I keep seeing comments like, "The only reason this guy was caught is because it was on video." The subtext usually being that it's ridiculous we have to have an officer caught red handed for anything to be done (and sometimes even then, justice is not metted out to the officer guilty of committing violent crimes against their communities).

To that I say, yes, it makes complete sense that evidence is what gets this guy caught. I don't want to live in a world where there are cases that evidence is not needed. Based on how he was staging the crime scene, I would not take a first hand account of what happened from a witness without any evidence. Regardless of what this officer actually did, based on the evidence presented (that he altered/tampered, and before the video surfaced) he deserved to be believed and if the videographer was just a witness without evidence, he should not, however it should have opened some type of inquiry.

That said, I'm really glad they're pushing body cameras, and I'm hoping these cities/counties seem the same success with reducing officers' use of force. If you believe that police shouldn't be believed more than an average citizen, I disagree. If you believe police shouldn't be held to a higher standard that average citizens, I also disagree.