Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Kevin Davis ordered street officers not to "recreate" body cam footage in a Tuesday memo that follows a turbulent two weeks for the agency in which at least two body cam tapes have come to light showing officers staging crime scenes.

"In the event your body worn camera is not activated during the recovery of evidence, under no circumstances shall you attempt to recreate the recovery of evidence after re-activating your body worn camera," Davis' memo (PDF) said. "If you must deactivate your body worn camera during an incident, merely explain the reasoning on camera (e.g., to protect the identity of a witness who wishes to remain anonymous, etc.)."

The memorandum, first revealed by the Baltimore Sun, comes as Baltimore prosecutors are dropping at least 41 drug and gun cases connected to three Baltimore Police Department officers shown in a body cam video in which one of them is seen planting drug evidence. That officer, who apparently did not realize his body cam was recording, has been suspended. The other two have been assigned to administrative duty.

A second video showing what looks to be the staging of a drug-find in a vehicle was disclosed Tuesday, a day after the authorities said they were examining it. Prosecutors said they would drop charges on one or possibly two suspects connected to that incident. And pending the outcome of an investigation, the authorities also said they would postpone prosecutions of suspects whose arrests were connected to the several officers in that second video.

Commissioner Davis' letter to police personnel comes as police departments across the nation are embracing body cams in the wake of high-profile police shootings. The video cameras are designed to both protect police from misconduct charges and to provide public accountability.

We've heard of only one other case, in Colorado, in which a police officer staged a body cam video.

In the aftermath of these incidents, we can expect body cam footage, which is routinely turned over to defense attorneys as part of the discovery process, to be more heavily scrutinized by the defense bar, prosecutors, police departments, and even juries.