Mike Brown Law. Requires all state, county, and local police to wear a camera.

[redqueen]

Create a bill, sign into law, and set aside funds to require all state, county, and local police, to wear a camera. Due to the latest accounts of deadly encounters with police, We the People, petition for the Mike Brown Law. Create a bill, sign into law, and set aside funds to require all state, county, and local police, to wear a camera.The law shall be made in an effort to not only detour police misconduct (i.e. brutality, profiling, abuse of power), but to ensure that all police are following procedure, and to remove all question, from normally questionable police encounters. As well, as help to hold all parties within a police investigation, accountable for their actions.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/mike-brown-law-requires-all-state-county-and-local-police-wear-camera/8tlS5czf

Apologies if this is a dupe. I did a search and didn't find this petition mentioned.

[appal_jack]

1. Best idea I have heard in a long while. k&r, nt

[Quayblue]

2. signed and shared. thanks

[shedevil69taz]

3. Signed and shared via bookface n/t

[TorchTheWitch]

4. I've never understood why this wasn't done anyway

It certainly isn't costly especially compared to all the military toys being sold to police departments and would be beneficial for both sides. Dash cams were a great idea, so why didn't officer cams naturally follow?

[theHandpuppet]

5. Well I think we know why, don't we?

I mean, what possible excuse could there be?

[TorchTheWitch]

10. privacy issues and money

Frankly, I'm not liking the idea that I'd be filmed in my own home no matter how crap I looked (like if I didn't have my denture in!) if the police come over to talk to me about the crazy neighbors or ask me to move my car so that a wide load garbage truck or something needs to pass on our insanely narrow street or to ask me if I happened to know who owned this poor dog that's been running around in the street or the neighbors asked for a welfare check because I live alone and dying of the flu, etc..

With dash cams people are out in public so have no expectation of privacy. Police calls in the home where they do though is a bit cringe worthy, and I can see people believing that it crosses a privacy line.

As for what you're insinuating... how much you bet Officer Wilson wishes he had an officer cam recording the incident now? This is beneficial for BOTH sides and would free up a hell of a lot of investigation time in a lot of cases. It's FAR more of a benefit to police than not.

[BrotherIvan]

12. Wouldn't you want it if the police came in and harassed you?

Because they do. It goes into a databank, so no one sees it unless there is a dispute. It seems like the most effective way to cut down police brutality and it needs to happen yesterday.

[TorchTheWitch]

26. doesn't happen here

Our department is great. I've met most of the officers since my dog likes to walk around the area of the police department since it's also got the skating rink where he loves to play in the "snow" that gets scraped off the ice and dumped in a big pile in the back of the building as well as the skateboard park and the football field for kiddie football and the baseball diamond for little league. Officers are constantly coming and going from the building, and they're all really nice.

I usually get a honk and a wave whenever a police car passes me when I'm out walking the dog all over the neighborhood, and a couple of the officers keep doggie treats in their cruisers for the neighborhood pooches (and unfortunately all the neighborhood dogs know those guys even from miles away and act like they haven't eaten a thing all week - especially my dog because he's a shameless pig). When I was working late at night they got to know what nights I usually worked and what time I came home, and since this is not such a nice neighborhood there was almost always a patrol car at the bottom of my street making sure I got in the house ok. They just did it, I never asked them.

Never read my funny story from years ago about the police and the possum here? Here ya go...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=9800846&mesg_id=9801181

Nope, I have no worries at all that any officer would be harassing me. I'm nice them just as I would be to anyone else. I treat them like actual real people just doing a thankless job and sometimes dull job that for no amount of money I would do. Believe it or not they're real average people.

Ever bothered to just talk to any of your local cops? If not, why not? It's ridiculous and paranoid to automatically treat police officers as if they're carriers of the plague. They're just regular people. Seems to me too many people here never were taught to walk a mile in someone else's shoes and get to know someone before judging them.

[bettyellen]

57. wow, it seems you are unable to walk in anyone else's shoes- do you have any idea at all

how policing works in other communities? The utopia you describe where everyone knows each others names, and your big concern is your messy living room or hair getting filmed is not the norm for a lot of people. And your hair or living room is not more important that others' safety and lives. Find some empathy, please- it;s not about you and your town.
Just WOW.

[bravenak]

58. I have spoken to local cops.

But I'm black. So, my left turn signal was intermittent. I did not know. I got pulled over, 2 regular cars, one K-9 unit was already puling in behind me when i stopped. The cop approached with gun drawn and pointed at me head as i rolled down the window to ask what the fuck. As i was staring down the barrel of his gun, i pulled my hood back from my head, revealing i was in fact a woman.

I said, "who fucking died!?!"

"Nobody." Puts gun back in holster.


"Why the fuck did you just point your gun at my fucking face?"


"I thought you were somebody else."


"Did you run my fucking plate before you pulled me over? That's Illegal, it's fishing."


"One minute, be right back."

Goes back and gets rid of the other cops.


"I'm giving you a ticket for your left turn signal."

"Yeah, whatever, not going to explain yourself? I should fucking sue you."


"Sorry, maam, I have to protect myself."

"From my turn signal?? Three cops, and a gun at my head for MY turn signal? Bullshit! That's not procedure, you thought i was my husband and you fucked up."

"I'll make it a fix it ticket."


The same cop pulls me over a few days later. Officer Rydag. Not a regular person. He pointed a gun at my head for being black and wearing a hoodie. Imagine what he would have done to my husband.

[redqueen]

61. Thank you for replying to that

I wanted to but ...

[bravenak]

62. Fantasy land.

[redqueen]

64. Or white middle class land, maybe.

Definitely not poverty-stricken, non-white land.

[bravenak]

65. They are in the same district.

I just don't get why they think their anecdotes are helpful.

[Aerows]

73. How dare you be out on the street at 11pm?

You must be up to no good.

"Uh, no, I was responding to a downed server alert and I'm going to reboot it."

:holds up pager:

"Your ass should be at home."

:Stunned silence:

"Go on before I arrest you."

Encounter with St. Pete, FL police while en route to my job.

And I'm white, but female.

[Tommymac]

59. Thanks Peter for the report from Never Never Land. But it ain't most peoples reality.

Sorry to be snarky but, you know, The obvious Militarization of most the US police forces and their obvious abuses have me a bit angry.

[Marrah_G]

66. May I ask which city you live in?

There aren't very many places where black males are not stopped and questioned or arrested more then any other group.

[TorchTheWitch]

78. You can ask but I'm not saying

Too personal for public consumption. I live in a Philly suburb in Delaware County though my street is just two or three away from the county line and across that line it's like a whole different world - and one I don't want to live in.

This part of town is about half white and half mostly black and a lot of other minorities. The local police are very racially diverse. Since I also live a few blocks from the police department I run into officers all the time. I buy my smokes at the mini-market that's next door to the department, and there's always officers in there particularly at the deli (they have an awesome deli), and they all go in early in the morning for the muffins that are still warm from just having arrived before the day shift starts. All the time I see officers chatting with people of all races in there. A lot of times there's a few hanging out in the parking lot in nice weather shooting the breeze and saying hello to people.

The captain is great though and I think it's largely due to him that the officers are fine with anybody no matter what color or gender or age or whatever. He insists that all the officers have to just talk to people and always smile, wave or say hello when they're out and about - be part of the community they serve. I think this has a lot to do with how well things work here. It makes people feel more at ease around an officer and reveals them to be just average people that happen to wear a uniform, but maybe more importantly it makes them feel more at ease with the people in the community whatever color.

The hiring processes is REALLY difficult though, and they weed out anyone right off the bat that has even a hint of any issues with minorities or women or teenagers or any other biases that would throw a wrench in the works. Because this department is one that officers practically kill themselves to get to work in anyone that does really doesn't want to run the risk losing their job since they won't get to work anywhere that comes close to as good. It's like winning a coveted prize just to get hired.

Now, I'm sure if I lived in Philly or the town across the country line it would be very different. I don't worry about what those officers might do to me though since I've never had any problem with any of them anywhere that I've lived or visited. Probably because I'm nice, I don't do anything criminal or anything that looks suspicious of something, and If I ever get stopped by a cop I cooperate. It isn't hard.

[dballance]

77. I'm glad that doesn't happen where you live RIGHT NOW. However,

You must realize you are just one new-hire away from the police academy to have it begin happening there.

The status quo doesn't always last.

[MohRokTah]

38. The first words out fo every cop's mouth will be...

"First I must inform you that you are currently being videotaped."

[bettyellen]

53. I bet Officer Wilson is glad there is no footage.

[redqueen]

6. Oh I think it's pretty obvious

At least it is to many, many Americans who are all to familiar with this shit.

[TorchTheWitch]

17. "this shit"?

It's FAR more beneficial to the police than not. FAR more.

They like the dash cams. There's no reason that they wouldn't also like the officer cams for the same reason... no more lies about what happened during a stop, people are far less likely to do stupid shit because they know the dash cam is on, and it frees up a lot of time that otherwise would have been spent on investigating.

But if you're one of those people that thinks every police officer in the country is a corrupt evil crazy and at every encounter is doing something corrupt then I suppose I can understand why you think they'd hate them.

[redqueen]

19. Did I say EVERY officer?

Funny how the reaction is so familiar. Not all men, not all cops...

I'm someone who has personal experience with racist pigs.

And I care more about the MANY innocent victims of police brutality than whether I'm caught on camera looking un-pretty.

[Tommymac]

63. If they liked the dash cams so much, why didn't Ferguson Police install theirs?

Have to disagree disagree with you.

Individual Cams would provide transparency as long as they output was available freely to the public via Truth in Information laws etc.

They protect both sides. The town in California that has required their use has seen a huge drop in abuse reports. I bet their insurance rates have dropped through the floor. And people are not getting harassed as the drop indicates.

Hell, the NSA is spying on all of us 24/7 anyway - lets force the authorities to monitor themselves and make it available to the world.

[woo me with science]

7. DEMILITARIZE THE POLICE.

Adding cameras is not enough.

Our police must be demilitarized and reminded of their mission to serve and protect citizens. Every program to militarize them must be ended.

ACLU launches nationwide police militarization investigation
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/06/aclu-police-militarization-swat_n_2813334.html

It's almost certain that if the police agencies cooperate, the ACLU will find that the militarization trend has accelerated since Kraska's studies more than a decade ago. All of the policies, incentives and funding mechanisms that were driving the trend then are still in effect now. And most of them have grown in size and scope.

The George W. Bush administration actually began scaling down the Byrne and COPS programs in the early 2000s, part of a general strategy of leaving law enforcement to states and localities. But the Obama administration has since resurrected both programs. The Byrne program got a $2 billion surge in funding as part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, by far the largest budget in the program's 25-year history. Obama also gave the COPS program $1.55 billion that same year, a 250 percent increase over its 2008 budget, and again the largest budget in the program's history. Vice President Joe Biden had championed both programs during his time in the Senate.

The Pentagon's 1033 program has also exploded under Obama. In the program's monthly newsletter (Motto: "From Warfighter to Crimefighter&quot , its director announced in October 2011 that his office had given away a record $500 million in military gear in fiscal year 2011, which he noted, "passes the previous mark by several hundred million dollars." He added, "I believe we can exceed that in FY 12.”

Then there are the Department of Homeland Security's anti-terrorism grants. The Center for Investigative Reporting found in a 2011 investigation that since 2001, DHS has given out more than $34 billion in grants to police departments across the country, many of which have been used to purchase military-grade guns, tanks, armor, and armored personnel carriers. The grants have gone to such unlikely terrorism targets as Fargo, N.D.; Canyon County, Idaho; and Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Link to the final ACLU report on militarization of police in America
https://www.aclu.org/criminal-law-reform/war-comes-home-excessive-militarization-american-police-report

[FarPoint]

8. If they say they can't afford the camera then sell an armor tank thing.

Yes...hold them all accountable.

[MohRokTah]

9. It's a win win for everybody that will only be opposed by bad cops.

The cops who are really criminals won't like it but it greatly reduces the need for the use of force, dramatically reduces the excessive force complaints from citizens and it improves conviction rates.

Again, ONLY BAD COPS WOULD OPPOSE MIKE BROWN'S LAW!

[Lee-Lee]

11. It's coming, but the technology isn't there yet

As I said in another post, they need to get battery technology where they can work a whole 12 hour shift plus some reserve while keeping it small enough to not be cumbersome.

I would have loved one. Most cops would- when dash cams came about they resulted in 90%+ of the claims of misconduct belong found to be unsubstantiated- in fact when they found out it was recorded half the complainants withdrew their complaint on the spot.

Cameras are great for good cops.

[redqueen]

20. "when they found out it was recorded half the complainants withdrew their complaint on the spot"

Citation, please.

[Lee-Lee]

24. Will you accept a DOJ report?

http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/Publications/video_evidence.pdf

Page 15

The study showed the significant impact that the in-car cameras have had on improving the officers’ ability to respond to complaints regarding professionalism and courtesy. The survey specifically asked line officers about complaints filed against them and the use of the recording to adjudicate the complaints. The majority of officers reported that the camera ultimately cleared them of accusations of wrongdoing; very few reported that the camera sustained a complaint filed against them. According to the responses of the over 3,000 officers who completed the surveys, in only 5% of the cases were complaints sustained based on video evidence captured by the in-car cameras.
A first line supervisor, or a supervisor of a similar command level, will generally handle a complaint against a police officer. Discussions with the supervisors mirrored the findings from the line officers survey, but added two new dimensions:
1. In at least half of the instances, once the complainant is made aware that the stop or contact was recorded, the complaint was withdrawn.
2. A significant amount of time was saved in conducting investigations, with the availability of the video evidence. Usually, this was conducted as an informal inquiry into the events. The supervisor reviewed the officer’s recording of the event, and then contacted the complainant to discuss the incident. These cases were rarely documented when the findings are in favor of the officer. If video evidence was not available, the complainant would usually be asked to file a written complaint. The supervisor would then interview all witnesses and the officer or officers involved, would then prepare a written document of the findings.

[redqueen]

43. Ah I see, they asked the cops.

Sure no crooked cops would do anything like not be 100% completely honest or anything. No chance of those results being skewed at all. No siree Bob.

[Lee-Lee]

45. Keep your head in the sand if you wish

[redqueen]

46. You, too!

[Democracy 1st]

33. Well

Well you got the citation. No reply now? It takes a big person to admit they were wrong. It takes a small person to demand and then run. Which are you?

[redqueen]

35. Asking for a citation = being wrong?

Welcome to DU.

[arcane1]

55. You signed up just for this?

[PoliticAverse]

34. The technology is here already, several police departments are using it, and yes it does do 12 hours

[Lee-Lee]

36. I haven't seen one that cones close

Unless they have a belt mounted battery box and a cable. That really won't be suitable to most agencies needs because a battery cable will get snagged on things and get pulled away and put in a struggle- right when the recording is needed most.

[PoliticAverse]

39. 12 hours, no belt-battery, actually being used by some departments currently, $399...

http://www.taser.com/products/on-officer-video/axon-body-on-officer-video

[Lee-Lee]

41. Nice! I stand corrected

I would have loved one of those when I did the job.

[conservaphobe]

13. If they have nothing to hide...

[MohRokTah]

15. Only a DIRTY COP would oppose this. GOOD COPS will LOVE IT!

Start the narrative.

[Enthusiast]

31. That's a meme we all should embrace. +1

[JDPriestly]

14. This is a great idea.

It would actually help police in situations in which, as with Brown, they may be dealing with a suspect who is stronger than they are or who is armed or who tries to get rid of evidence upon seeing the police.

I had a neighbor who rented part of a house next door. She created constant problems. The police came to talk to her and arrest her but she struggled. I watched her lash out verbally and physically at the police. It was quite a scene. The police handled it very well, but they were clearly worried about being sued because the woman had a very angry personality and obviously knew precisely what she was doing and how to push the officers into having to be physically aggressive in order to arrest her.

The officers knew that I had watched and asked me to make a statement. I told them I would be happy to do so.

A camera would have been very useful in that situation. It probably would have caused the woman to be more cooperative in the first place. She knew exactly how to make things as difficult for the officers as possible. In fact, had she been capable of remaining clam, she probably would not have been arrested. She probably would simply have had to turn down the noise.

There are a lot of crazy people out there. And, no. I did not report the noise. I don't know who did. Life is full of strange characters. Most of them are harmless. And a lot of arrests would be unnecessary if suspects knew there was no way to avoid being filmed in their contacts with the police.

Normally, I favor individual privacy, but contact with the police is not a private moment.

[Android3.14]

16. That is exactly what needs to happen

eom

[uponit7771]

18. Even wingers support Cop Cam amendment or now the Mike Brown Law...

[redqueen]

22. But some DUers don't.

What a world.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

21. thanks. totally support this. n/t

[NightWatcher]

23. There's nothing to fear, if you're not doing anything wrong

Isn't that what they tell us about being surveilled?

[adieu]

25. ...deter police...

...detour police... means something else.

[redqueen]

28. Pretty sure most everyone here knows that

I copied the text from the page, which is why it is formatted as an excerpt.

[Ino]

27. ... and if said camera fails to record?

It is the cop's responsibility to make sure his/her camera is working at all times. Should the claim be made that it didn't work, was broken, lost, etc., it will be assumed that the cop turned it off, broke it, or lost it on purpose. And his/her version of events will be considered "tainted" and thrown out.

Oh, aren't there cameras that automatically send whatever's recording to another location? The info is not stored on the camera itself, but somewhere else? If the other location detects that the camera stops working, the cop would immediately get a call to fix/replace it.

[PoliticAverse]

32. As anyone with a cell-phone can tell you, you don't get reception everywhere. n/t

[Enthusiast]

29. Kicked and recommended! I'm with you, redqueen.

Signed!

[PoliticAverse]

30. The Constitution limits what the Federal Government can require state and local governments to do.

The Federal government could give state and local governments cameras or tie the
receiving of federal assistance grants to the use of cameras, but a straight out requirement
that all police agencies use cameras would likely be found to be unconstitutional.

[F4lconF16]

75. I would have to agree with you.

Of course, it gets awareness out, and who knows? Maybe they will tie it to an important grant or something. I signed it anyways.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

37. done. thanks for sharing. nt

[Bettie]

40. Signed, recced and kicked

for good measure.

[bl968]

42. Lets not forget Homeland Security

Federal too

[jmowreader]

44. It would have to come on when the cop leaves his car

The local police are in the middle of a dog shooting investigation. (Google Arfee.) The shooter didn't have his camera on.

This only works if the camera starts when the cop gets out of the driver seat.

[SomethingFishy]

47. Anyone ever hear of a power button?

Camera's don't do shit. You can turn one off in less than a second and claim "technical difficulties" How about instead of threatening cops with filming their every move we take away their military grade hardware. How about we train them to shoot as a last resort. How about the first time a cop beats an unarmed suspect who is not "resisting" they lose their fucking job?

You want to put a band-aid on broken leg.. be my guest. We'll be right back here in months arguing over another dead body.

[redqueen]

49. 1. Wilson didn't use military grade hardware.

2. He was taught, like all cops, that deadly force is a last resort.

3. Police brutality is already against the law. This will help when deciding whether cops should be fired for it, as they wait for the result of the investigation while on paid vacation.

[SomethingFishy]

50. Cops are learning from

the government that shooting someone is not a LAST RESORT but the way to get the job done.

Someone attacks you? Kill a bunch of other people. Someone is doing something you disagree with (like say drugs) then start a WAR with them.

I'm sorry but this is the society we have grown. Putting a camera on a cops head is not going to stop killings, it's not going to end racism, if anything, it's going to work in the favor of the police. Remember Rodney King? Unarmed on the ground getting pounded by half a dozen cops. ALL ON TAPE. All found NOT GUILTY.

We don't need band-aids. We need a seismic shift in consciousness.

[redqueen]

54. You think it won't help, I disagree.

I think we need a seismic shift in consciousness regarding the way girls and women are portrayed and treated, in order to end rape culture. I won't dismiss any small steps we can use to end the unfair treatment of girls and women while we work on the siesmic shift. IMO the same principle applies here. YMMV.

[SomethingFishy]

56. I agree about the rape culture...

Not sure what that has to do with cameras and cops.

I think we want the same things just have different ideas about how to get them..

I will sign the petition for you.

[redqueen]

60. I was just saying that in both cases, we can do small things to help

while working on the big picture

[A Simple Game]

67. You are partially right, putting cameras on cops will not stop all killings.

But it will stop some, and some of the killings will get prosecuted and some cops will go to jail. Once cops see they can get caught and jailed many will change their ways of dealing with the public, a kind of snowball effect will take place.

Some, if not many police may be racist and some may just believe in having a strong authoritarian response to any situation with civilians, but few will have enough faith in their racism or response to risk jail.

In my work life in various jobs I have noticed that the average for "bad apples" or just plain poor workers in any work force, hourly or salary makes no difference, is around 10 percent, a good hiring policy can reduce that amount to near zero or double it. I have never worked in police work but by the ones I know and what I read and see I have no doubt that the percentage of "bad apples" is much higher than the average for civilian jobs. People gravitate to police jobs for a reason, they are authoritarian and sometimes just bullies.

[opiate69]

48. A redqueen post I can actually rec. Stellar idea. Happy to sign.

[damnedifIknow]

51. ASAP

But I still will keep my spy camera real close.

[Faux pas]

52. I was hunting for this petition

earlier. Thanks!

[Codeine]

68. One of our nearby departments does this.

It's been a huge boon to citizens and officers alike. Nobody should oppose this -- it's a no-brainer.

[niyad]

69. rialto, california, is doing this--and the results are as we would expect: police brutality

down, amoung other things.

[ncjustice80]

70. Good idea

However, I think it should be an unfunded mandate. Departments should have to sell off weapons, body armor, vehicles, and lay off officers to get the funds to comply. There is no reason We the People should have to pay for something the cops should have done long ago. I think they should also add a Federal law abolishing police unions. Police unions are the only type of union that is an enemy of the people and do nothing but hide the many, many bad apples and bloat cops already fat paychecks and benefits packages.

[Uncle Joe]

71. If the federal government is intent on issuing local police forces anything

it should be shirt cameras, instead of anti-mine armored vehicles, military armor and high powered assault weapons.

Thanks for the thread, redqueen.

[Aerows]

72. 100% behind this.

K & R

[ecstatic]

74. And open/concealed carry folks should be required to wear one while carrying

I know... one step at a time, but this seems like common sense.

[quadrature]

79. agree 100% ...nt

[cbdo2007]

80. LOL "Mike Brown law" - there are much better examples of police brutality than this Mike Brown case

which is a gray area at best.