An altercation involving multiple Anaheim teenagers and an off-duty LAPD officer is leading to a major public relations challenge for the department. The incident also fuels the ongoing tension between police and the communities they are sworn to protect. This tension is high not only in Southern California but throughout the nation. Easily recorded real-time video is one of the many reasons these tensions have been exacerbated in recent years.
The recent case in Anaheim was recorded on several hand-held devices. The OC Weekly, and many other media outlets, posted a link to the video that was viewed more than two million times on YouTube before it was removed. A new video from another source has since been posted to YouTube and viewed more than 40, 000 times so far. Perhaps such videos will lead to greater trust and accountability but, thus far, they have led to, mostly, protests and officer-involved lawsuits.