Body Cameras

Body Cameras Were Sold As A Tool Of Police Reform

December 18, 2023 Umar Farooq, ProPublica. Educate! Body Cameras, Police, Police abuse, Police accountability

In the last 10 years, taxpayers have spent millions to outfit police officers across the country with body-worn cameras in what was sold as a new era of transparency and accountability. But a survey by ProPublica shows that when civilians die at the hands of police, the public usually never sees the footage. At least 1,201 people were killed in 2022 by law enforcement officers, about 100 deaths a month, according to Mapping Police Violence, a nonprofit research group that tracks police killings. ProPublica examined the 101 deaths that occurred in June 2022, a time frame chosen because enough time had elapsed that investigations could reasonably be expected to have concluded. The cases involved 131 law enforcement agencies in 34 states.

Body-Cam Giant Snaps Up Its Biggest Rival To Create Near-Monopoly

May 8, 2018 Cyrus Farivar, Arstechnica.com Educate! Body Cameras, Monopoly, Police

Axon, the company formerly known as Taser, has acquired its largest rival, VieVu—setting up a near-monopoly in the market for body-worn cameras. While Axon already has contracts with most large cities in America, VieVu beat out Axon for a number of large contracts, including those for the New York Police Department, the Miami-Dade Police Department, and the Phoenix Police Department, among others. Last year, Axon got even more aggressive in pursuing its industry dominance by offering any American law enforcement agency free body cameras and a year’s worth of access to the company’s cloud storage service, Evidence.com. Digital Ally, now one of the company's smaller rivals, did not respond to Ars’ request for comment. While the prevalence of body-worn cameras is accelerating, they are still far from ubiquitous.

Body Cameras Won’t Solve Problem Of Police Violence Against Black People

October 12, 2016 Nathalie Baptiste, www.alternet.org Strategize! Body Cameras, police brutality

By Nathalie Baptiste for AlterNet - Body cameras were going to be black America’s saving grace. Technology was going to bring to light the horrors of police violence in communities of color, while the cameras would provide enough transparency to help rebuild trust in law enforcement in historically over-policed communities. But instead, police departments are simply finding ways to render body cameras useless in the fight for accountability. Officials in every level of government have lauded body cameras.

Lawmaker Pushing Bill To Protect People Filming Police Arrested

October 3, 2016 Naomi LaChance, www.theintercept.com Educate! Body Cameras, Police

By Naomi LaChance for The Intercept - An Arkansas State representative who helped pass a state law protecting people who film police was arrested Monday while filming Little Rock police as they put a black man in handcuffs after a traffic stop. The charges against Rep. John Walker have been dropped, but his colleague, fellow civil rights lawyer Omavi Shukur, faces charges for obstruction of government relations. Officer Jeff Thompson wrote in his police report

Study: Flaws In How Police Use Body Cameras

August 7, 2016 Larry Greenemeier, www.scientificamerican.com Educate! Body Cameras, Police abuse

By Larry Greenemeier for Scientific American. At a time when police across the U.S. are being watched warily by the citizens they serve, many departments are embracing wearable cameras to document their interactions with the public. Police and rights activists alike had hoped recording incidents on patrol would help discourage violence against officers as well as increase transparency in how police treat citizens. But a report released this week questions how much law enforcement agencies are telling the public about the use of the cameras—and the footage they collect. The latest body-worn camera scorecard from the The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, working with technology and policy consulting firm Upturn, examined 50 U.S. police departments and pronounced them lacking in most of the study’s eight criteria. These benchmarks include how well police protect the privacy of those they record, whether officers are allowed to review footage before filing their reports, how long the footage is retained and whether civilians can view footage in which they appear.

NC Governor Signs Law Making Police Cam Footage Unavailable

July 14, 2016 Elaina Athans, www.abc11.com Resist! Body Cameras, Legislation, North Carolina, Police

By Elaina Athans for ABC News - Motivated by the controversial police officer-involved shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota, and the terror in Texas that unfolded after a Black Lives Matter march, Gov. Pat McCrory signed the Body Cam bill into law. McCrory signed House Bill 972 on Monday afternoon. The new law details who can view and obtain footage from body and dashboard camera. The footage is no longer public record.

Federal Court Rules You Can Be Arrested Simply For Filming Police

March 1, 2016 Staff, www.countercurrentnews.com Resist! Body Cameras, Court, First Amendment, Police

By Staff of Counter Current News - Philadelphia, PA — A federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has ruled that filming the police without a specific challenge or criticism is not constitutionally protected. The cases of Fields v. City of Philadelphia, and Geraci v. City of Philadelphia involve two different incidents where individuals were arrested for filming the police. Richard Fields, a Temple University student, was arrested after stopping to take a picture of a large group of police outside a house party.

How Do Police-Worn Body Camera Programs Actually Work?

February 13, 2016 Brynne O'Neal, www.brennancenter.org Educate! Body Cameras, Police

By Brynne O'Neal for Brennan Center For Justice - The shooting death of Michael Brown last August in Ferguson, Mo., ignited a public debate about police video cameras. The incident was not videotaped. Two competing narratives emerged. In one, Brown, an 18-year-old unarmed black man, was approaching officer Darren Wilson with his hands up, only to be shot six times. In another, ultimately supported by a Department of Justice investigation, Wilson shot Brown after Brown reached through the window of the officer’s cruiser, struggled for Wilson’s gun, retreated, and then appeared to lunge at him again.

The Dystopian Danger Of Police Body Cameras

August 23, 2015 Rachel Levinson-Waldman, www.brennancenter.org Educate! Body Cameras, Police abuse, Surveillance

By Rachel Levinson-Waldman for the Brennan Center for Justice - This history suggests that for body cameras — and any other surveillance technology — the right question to ask is not, “are we comfortable with this particular technology, used for the particular governmental purpose currently asserted, with the particular controls currently in place?” Rather, the more accurate and far-reaching question is, “what do we think of the other uses that might be spawned once this technology is introduced?” For body cameras, it is already evident that they will be introduced in many more contexts than simply law enforcement. If they are being placed on principals, they will eventually be placed on teachers. If they are placed on teachers, they will eventually be placed on child care providers, and then on youth ministers, and so on and so on. The normalization of one kind of surveillance technology will also help hasten the normalization of other types.

Baltimore Mayor Vetoed Bill Requiring Body Cams For Cops

May 1, 2015 SM Gibson, www.mintpressnews.com Educate! Baltimore, Body Cameras, Freddie Gray, police brutality, Police the Police

“We also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that.” Those are the words spoken on Saturday by Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake that propelled her into the national political cross-hairs. Americans who did not know the woman’s name a week ago have called for her resignation. Some have even gone as far as to say that she should be charged with inciting a riot. Rawlings-Blake promptly issued a response on her Facebook page clarifying her original statement. “I did not instruct police to give space to protesters who were seeking to create violence or destruction of property,” said the Mayor via her social media account. Instead of growing incensed over a few words said by a politician in the midst of a crisis, we need to focus on what caused protesters and looters to fill the streets of Baltimore in the first place.

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