The gang-related stabbings that occurred in the parking lot outside of Big League Dreams after the Fourth of July aerial fireworks involved just a few individuals.

Gang members are notorious for refusing to cooperate with police even when they’ve been shot or slashed with a knife.

However, dozens of individuals whipped out their cell phones to capture video of the incident.

Those videos were invaluable to Manteca Police to quickly - and accurately - identify suspects.

Eye witness accounts often aren’t as reliable as other evidence. A little over 12 years ago, a suspect ignored police warnings to drop his gun and he started raising it and pointing at officers. A host of witnesses told investigators that the man shot first. That wasn’t the case. The police - as well as the evidence - showed law enforcement officers fired first.

In the June 8 shooting death of Ernesto Duenez, 34, by Manteca Police, the dash-mounted video in the patrol unit is considered the linchpin of efforts to determine the truth.

That video will either support the police’s version of the incident or it will support the Duenez’s family’s version.

The maddening thing is the backlog of cases with officer-involved shootings from throughout the county is making it likely that the district attorney’s office won’t complete its part of the investigation for another five months. Everyone wants a thorough investigation. Budget cuts are the culprit here with manpower in the DA’s office of trained investigators on the thin side.

Manteca’s elected leaders really have no business interfering with an ongoing investigation. Nor should they call for an independent investigation until such time what is on the tape is known to the public and whether that warrants such a request.

They can take decisive action to allay any community fears about the job law enforcement does while at the same time provide additional backing to the men and women in the police department.

That action would be going to personal video cameras mounted on officer uniforms such as San Jose has gone with and some jurisdictions such as Livermore are experimenting with.

Video is a powerful investigation tool. It can also give the entire picture of what an officer deals with.

Those who demanded “justice for Ernesto” were careful not to contend police operate wantonly. They argued that they were concerned that some officers may not be able to perform to the high standards that society expects of law enforcement.

Whether that is the case in the June 8 shooting has yet to be seen.

Meanwhile, the city can go a long ways on the path to transparency and backing officers up by investing in personal video units a high priority when funding becomes available.