Keep those cameras rolling, folks

The video evidence was crucial:

A California sheriff's deputy, whose videotaped shooting of an unarmed Iraq war veteran caused a nationwide furor, will be charged with attempted manslaughter, authorities said on Tuesday.

Ivory John Webb was taped in January shooting Elio Carrion after a car chase in Chino, in San Bernardino County, about 45 miles east of Los Angeles.

The car crashed and Carrion, who was a passenger, is seen apparently obeying the officer's commands to get up from the ground when Webb shoots him three times.

Filmed by a bystander, the grainy amateur tape was passed to local television channels and the story — with its echoes of the videotaped beating of Rodney King by police officers that led to the 1992 Los Angeles riots — became national news.

Webb, 45, has been on administrative leave since the incident and could face 18 years in prison if convicted.

A pleasant surprise to find that — at least in one jurisdiction — out-of-control law enforcement officers are still held responsible for their actions.