This is exactly why police officers should NOT have any access to their recorded footage or power/on-off functions. The IT staff (should be non police) should be liable for any abetting of badged felons.
Marshaul - is correct in wanting harsh penalties..without "very sharp teeth" the body cams lose their deterrent effect.
Taking the control out of their hands (at least so far as is possible) isn't a bad idea.
And you're absolutely correct; if a cop intends to commit murder (and thus risk life in prison), a slap on the wrist won't serve as an additional deterrent. Police need to know they
will be held to blame if they fail to provide footage of their actions. The natural way to do that, and to make the punishment concomitant to the offense, is to simply assign civil liability for any harm caused by the officer without such footage.
You can bet that, real quick, two things would start happening:
1. Police abuse would plummet
2. Good cops would start recording in triplicate
Both of these are desirable.
