Coming soon: An app to report police brutality
Washington (CNN) -- Reporting police brutality could just be a swipe away.
That's the motivation behind SWAT, a new app designed by college students Joe Gruenbaum and Brandon Anderson to counter excessive uses of force by police officers.
The app, which its creators would like to release by spring, will give witnesses of a police incident the ability to live-stream video from their smartphones to SWAT's secure servers. Once a video is on the servers, the team at SWAT can forward a copy to authorities, protecting witness recordings from possible destruction or seizure during the incident."
*The live-streaming function is step one of the SWAT process. In addition to recording secure video, a SWAT user will be able to file a police report in seconds. The app will generate a form, send the report to a nearby department with proper jurisdiction, and provide users with a summary of their local rights. "We want to make sure that people understand completely their protections, constitutionally and legally, when they're interacting with the police," Gruenbaum said.
The inspiration for the app comes from what happened in Ferguson, Missouri this year, as well as from Anderson's personal experience. A former U.S. Army satellite engineer, Anderson told CNN his partner died from injuries sustained during a confrontation with police.
"I lost my partner to police brutality, and the cops got away with it because of a lack of evidence," Anderson said."
http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/26/politics/swat-app-seeks-to-reduce-police-violence/index.html