Police Officer Shuts Off Body Camera Out Of Respect For Dying Victim

NEW YORK—Deciding that it wouldn’t be right to try to capture video of another human being in his final moments, NYPD police officer Tom Sloane reportedly shut off his body camera early Monday morning out of respect for his dying victim. “This man is bleeding and gasping for breath, and so it just feels kind of morbid and disrespectful to put that on film when I’m sure it’s not how he’d want to be remembered,” said the officer, explaining why he considerately turned off his body camera after noticing that the man he had just shot five times in the back at point-blank range appeared to be on the verge of death. “These things always end up online, and I think the last thing anyone wants is to see their last moments on earth go viral. Plus, it honestly feels like by filming him, I’d be inserting myself into his narrative, and if it’s my body camera, it really seems like I’m trying to make his death all about me. Not committing this violent tragedy to film is just the respectful thing to do.” The NYPD added that it seemed exploitative to publicize the man’s death because that would be what people remembered about him, so the department was refraining from releasing any details about the incident to respect his privacy.