Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Caught on Camera

In this video, captured by a helmet camera, a Range Rover was surrounded by motorcycles on the highway. One cut him off and brake checked the vehicle, causing it to tap his rear wheel. The driver of the SUV stopped, but was quickly ambushed by the pack of bikers. The driver, Alexian Lien, had his wife and 2 month old daughter in the car. As they started to bang on his car, he fled, hitting more bikers in the process. One was paralyzed.

Eventually he got to stand-still traffic and the bikers caught up to him. They smashed the windows of his car, pulled him out, and kicked and stomped on him.


This is not the only video. The entire event was captured by surveillance cameras, highway cameras, and bystanders cell phones and iPads. According to This article, 6 people have been arrested so far for their participation in the beating. One of them was an off-duty police officer.

Had it not been for the videos, the court proceedings may have been very different. People might assume that the driver of the SUV had started the altercation, and he might have faced charges. The helmet camera footage was very important for proving his innocence, and showing the crimes of the bikers.

This is an example of how technology is playing a larger role in the modern courtroom. It allows for prosecutions to be more accurate.


Are there any negative aspects of digital cameras being so widespread?
Do you know of any other cases similar to this one?

1 comment:

  1. The video doesn't work, but I'm glad that I don't have to see the bikers beating this man. To answer your question, I think that technology helped the victim in this case, but technology can sometimes distort what actually happened. I know that sounds odd because a camera is supposed to take a picture/video of what is being displayed. Thinking about Louis Masur's book, "The Soiling of Old Glory", Masur argues that the way a video or photo is edited, it can change the meaning of the piece. After reading this article I didn't really think about technology. I thought about the safety in America. I was appalled that two police officers were apart of this horrendous act. Police officers have a duty to protect their people and to try to keep peace in their area. If the people that are supposed to protect us turn their backs on us, the level of safety decreases tremendously.

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