There may be good reasons, sometimes, for a governor to veto a bill. Unfortunately, we don’t know of a good reason why Gov. Chris Christie would “pocket veto” legislation requiring all new police vehicles to be equipped with a dashboard video recording device.

And, we do know a lot of reasons why this measure should have been signed into law. The bill, A-4193, in the just-ended legislative session, was sponsored by Assemblyman Paul Moriarty, D-4th Dist., following Moriarty’s personal experience with an apparently bogus traffic violation.

Charged in his Washington Township hometown with drunken driving by a local officer who had a long history with the lawmaker, Moriarty was able to establish his innocence when the officer’s own video camera revealed what really happened.

But having a camera in a police car is about more than just supporting the testimony of an officer or helping a citizen escape a bad rap. Passersby caught on camera may turn out to be potential witnesses to a crime. Cars driving erratically at one moment may be involved in a hit and run moments later.

In an era when every mom-and-pop store has security cameras and every other grandmother carries a phone that shoots video, there’s really no excuse for failing to install and use cameras in police cruisers.

Moriarty’s bill even established a funding mechanism through a surcharge on drunk-driving fines. Unfortunately, the bill doesn’t require retrofitting of older patrol cars with cameras, just their installation in newly purchased vehicles. […]