Daily Herald opinion: This use of policy bodycams can save lives

This editorial represents the consensus opinion of the Daily Herald Editorial Board

When footage from police body cameras is released to the public, it most often seems to be in the context of a controversy or altercation to help determine whether officers acted appropriately. And, to be sure, there is great value in that.

But the footage released this month by Antioch Police Chief Geoff Guttschow has a different and equally valuable purpose. Indeed, it goes beyond merely demonstrating the response of police in a single specific instance and provides a dramatic video that could save lives.

As our Cops & Crime columnists Charles Keeshan and Susan Sarkauskas reported Friday, Guttschow felt a need to do more than just issue the usual warnings about drug use after Antioch police responded to three opioid overdoses last weekend. They were the 15th, 16th and 17th overdoses of the year in a community of a little over 14,000 people.

So, Guttschow found bodycam video of Antioch police officers responding to an overdose in January and, with the victim's permission, posted it on the department's Facebook page.

The grim story of opioid addiction and deaths has rolled out over the past two decades in a succession of ever more-shocking statistics. It's an important story to tell and keep telling, but it's also true that after a while, the numbers take on a cold familiarity. Seeing the drama and the trauma of an actual crisis, Guttschow realized, might help potential opioid users - as well as the community at large - understand the crisis in an immediate and personal way, the way police officers see it.

"There's an acknowledgment from most people that opioids exist in the community and that most communities experience opioid deaths and overdoses," Guttschow told our columnists. "But I think the image of what that truly means and can look like for a family member, it really drives a very impactful message home."

It's not an easy message to watch. The Antioch video shows officers administering Narcan to a man who is unconscious and without a pulse, then administering chest compressions to get him to breathe again.

Fortunately, it worked, and the man not only revived but also took steps to turn his life around. The stories don't always turn out so well. The video notes that of 52 overdoses in Antioch since January 2019, eight victims died.

The story of heroin and opioid addiction is sad and harsh. We've been chronicling it in the suburbs for nearly 30 years in various ways - tracing those steadily, and still, rising numbers as well as portraying the heartbreaks of personal loss and the power of overcoming affliction.

With a creative twist on the use of bodycam footage, Antioch police have added yet another way to tell it. From what we've learned of this insidious scourge, it's impossible to predict that such a video will reverse those wretched numbers, but it at least may influence some would-be users and help combat them.