Making Discoveries
The video clip above shows a significant discovery made during the People v Ivory Webb Case, out of Fullerton California, for which NCAVF provided forensic audio and video enhancements and anaylsis.
Here’s the background: San Bernardino Police Deputy Ivory Webb was taken on a high speed chase through a residential neighborhood, stopping only when the vehicle he was chasing crashed into a yard. After the crash, a local resident came out of his house and started recorded the subsequent shooting on his home video camera.
The expert for the prosecution claimed that when approaching the car to apprehend the two men, Webb should not have pulled around to the front of the car, claiming instead that he should have pulled behind the car and set up an arrest. That way, the expert claimed, is standard procedure and is safer for the officer. The expert working for the DA said that by looking through the back window, Webb could have seen what was happening on both the driver and passenger side, which would have also been more safe for the officer.
It didn’t dawn on us until we saw a still-image of the car taken on the following day, in the daylight (shown in the video above). It is hard to see in the captured recorded video footage, but what the picture showed us was that the trunk was open, and therefore officer Webb made the correct decision to go around to the front because he couldn’t see through the trunk!
Once the digital media experts at NCAVF digitally enhanced the still-image of that specific portion of the recorded video evidence, we knew for certain the trunk was open during the incident. The expert for the prosecution had no idea, and Webb’s defense attorney led the forensic expert down a path of discussion that made the prosecution look really bad. This was a powerful moment in the case, and reminds us to study our video evidence closely. If you’re willing to spend the time, there are a lot of helpful details that can be uncovered to help your case.