Tragedies in North Charleston, SC, and Cleveland, OH, showed us that when "bad apple" cops murder unarmed citizens, cameras can make all the difference when it comes to accountability.
That's why it's great news that our nation's capital is about to require its police to wear cameras - but why is Mayor Muriel Bowser going back on her word about public access to the camera footage?
According to the Washington Post, the mayor wants to block you from viewing "footage of any of the thousands of assaults that occur annually in the District. In addition, D.C. police would not allow members of the public to view footage of their own interactions with police if they file a complaint that leads to charges against an officer. That narrowed a provision she proposed last month... The subject of a video also would not be allowed to view recordings from body cameras if an officer has filed charges."
This means that when police officers accuse citizens of misconduct, only the police will get to see the videos, but that when citizens accuse police of misconduct... only the police will get to see the videos.
How is this accountability? How is this transparency? Obviously some limits on access are needed to protect the privacy of innocent civilians accidentally caught on camera, but Bowser's new plan goes too far.
Tell Mayor Bowser and the DC Council: Don't ban public access to police camera footage! Allow citizens to view footage of assaults and complaints!
And if you haven't yet, please also sign the Care2 petition for police cameras in your state!
Image credit: Street Sense on Flickr, via Creative Commons license 2.0
I'm delighted that our nation's capital is about to require its police officers to wear body cameras - but why is Mayor Bowser going back on her word about the public's access to the camera footage?
According to the Washington Post, the mayor's plan bans citizens like you from viewing "footage of any of the thousands of assaults that occur annually in the District. In addition, D.C. police would not allow members of the public to view footage of their own interactions with police if they file a complaint that leads to charges against an officer. That narrowed a provision she proposed last month... Under Bowser’s new proposal, the subject of a video also would not be allowed to view recordings from body cameras if an officer has filed charges against an individual."
This means that when police officers accuse citizens of misconduct, only the police will get to see the videos, but that when citizens accuse police of misconduct... only the police will get to see the videos.
How is this accountability? How is this transparency? Obviously some limits on public access are needed to protect the privacy of innocent civilians accidentally caught on video, but Bowser's new plan goes too far.
I am writing to say: Don't ban public access to police camera footage! Please allow citizens to view footage of assaults and complaints!
Thank you,
