Army Ranger uses GoPro in domestic violence case: A new line of defense?
Portable GoPro cameras have recently been used by more than just extreme athletes and drones. In a number of cases, GoPros 鈥� or other video cameras 鈥� have been used as a new line of defense in domestic violence cases.
In Dunedin, Fla., last week, Mike Novak, an Army Ranger, strapped a GoPro to his belt to capture his estranged wife鈥檚 behavior. Mr. Novak says he resorted to recording his wife because of false allegations in the past. 鈥淭he main point of using the camera was to prove what she was doing, paint an accurate picture because the camera doesn鈥檛 lie,鈥� Novak told .
In the video, Novak tells his estranged wife that he is going to call the police because of her behavior and , 鈥淐all the police. I鈥檓 going to tell them that you just assaulted me鈥all them right now.鈥�
Novak did in fact call the police, but he was armed with video evidence.聽
A Pinellas County deputy viewed the footage from Novak鈥檚 GoPro, and arrested Corinne Novak on Sept. 17. Ms. Novak was charged with one count of domestic battery and she is in Pinellas County Jail awaiting trial.
And this is not the first time video evidence has solved cases of domestic violence.
In a separate case last year, Michael Gregory from the Isle of Wright was sentenced to ten years in prison for assaulting his partner Gale Marmoy after police officers鈥� body-worn video cameras captured the scene.聽
鈥淧eople don鈥檛 realize how bad these things are, but with that footage, they can see how bad it was,鈥� Ms. Marmoy explains to the . 鈥淎 picture does tell a story, but actually watching it, they can see that I was totally confused鈥hat you don鈥檛 get from a photograph.鈥�
In yet another case last year, internet advertising CEO Gurbaksh Chahal faced 45 felony charges in March after a security video from Chahal鈥檚 home documented a serious physical attack on his girlfriend.
Officers illegally seized and removed camera footage from Mr. Chahal鈥檚 bedroom before obtaining a warrant to search the contents, making the footage insubmissable in court. 鈥淭hough this is not the outcome we had hoped for,鈥� Alex Bastian, spokesman for San Fransico District Attorney George Gasc贸n, said , 鈥渢he case has reached a resolution where the defendant acknowledges guilt, is placed on domestic violence probation and has to take domestic violence classes.鈥澛�
