Week 8 Takeaways

·        Police Body Cameras

o   Jessica’s blog post

§  Body cameras should be employed nation wide

§  Policies governing body cameras should be nationwide

§  Body cameras should only be used when engaging in public interaction

§  Privacy issue outweighed by public interest

o   Zoey’s Post

§  Victims, Bystanders and Police officers all have different privacy concerns.

§  Policies governing body camera should balance the privacy interests of all three groups.

o   Abdi Mohamed

§  Abdi Mohamed was shot multiple times by 2 SLC officers.

§  Sparked protests and controversy over whether police used excessive force.

§  Abdi was charged with drug possession and aggravated robbery.

§  There was a fight over access to the body-cam footage.

§  ACLU Sued for access to the footage, and only recently gained access for the public.

§  Two bills were spawned by the incident:

·        One will speed the process of releasing body-cam footage to the public.

·        The other protects the identity of the police officer until the investigation is over.

o   Q/A Exercise on body cameras

§  Should the camera include video, audio or both?

·        Zoey & Jessica: Both should be included so it’s more clear what is taking place.

§  When should the camera be activated?

·        Zoey: Whenever an officer is responding to a call. Officers should have the ability to turn them on or off. Police officers deserve their privacy as well.

·        Jessica: Body-cams should be activated for any public interaction. Stop and frisk searches don’t require a call, but the officer’s camera should be turned on.

·        Body-cams are both like, and unlike private cameras that capture photos of people in public places.

·        Body-cams can go onto private property, and into more private places than dash cams can.

§  When should the camera be de-activated

·        Zoey: The camera should be deactivated when the incident is over, or at the officer’s discretion when taking statements from victims.

·        Jessica: There needs to be a good reason to turn the body camera off. However, once public interaction is finished, the camera can be turned off.

·        Policer officers (and in fact anybody) do not need a warrant to secretly record audio during a conversation that they’re.

·        Class:

o   On all the time: 2

o   On when responding to call: 7

o   On always, but with anonymous mode: 5

§  Should advance notice of activation be required?

·        Class: No.

§  What happens if a person objects to use of the camera?

·        Jessica: If in a private place, and no confrontation is taking place, then the camera should be turned off. Otherwise it should not be.

·        Zoey: It should be at the discretion of the officer, unless the officer is asked to turn if off before entering a citizen’s home.

·        Others believe that the camera should not be turned off.

·        An anonymous button would solve many of these problems as well.

§  Should there be special rules when interacting with certain types of persons, or in certain places?

·        Some believe that minors should not be recorded, but others argued that there are cases where minors need to be recorded.

·        Some believe that cameras should not be turned on in bathrooms, others believe that there just simply shouldn’t be the ability to turn the camera off.

§  May the body cam be used surreptitiously?

·        Zoey: No, they do not need consent to record, and it does not need to be obvious that they’re recording.

o   Look at ACLU policy, and House Bill 300 for more info.