Two recent law enforcement interventions in Greensboro and Winston-Salem have prompted questions about police use of force. In Greensboro, Marcus Deon Smith died in the hospital hours after he was restrained by police in a position his family described as being “hogtied.” The family’s lawyer says the position left Smith unable to breathe. Smith’s family recently made a public request for Greensboro City Council to review the police body camera footage from the incident.
In Winston-Salem, the city’s police department did publicly release body camera footage after the contentious arrest of a 14-year-old Hanes Magnet Middle School student by a school resource officer. The incident was caught on camera by a bystander, and local news organizations petitioned for the release of the full police body camera footage.
That video is now available on the Winston-Salem Police Department website. Host Frank Stasio speaks with Triad City Beat Senior Editor Jordan Green about the two stories and the bigger questions they raise about police body camera footage in North Carolina.
