Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Politics/National
NationalNews

Police Body Camera Law on the Way? The White House Shows Full Support

Posted byBy Taylor Gordon | Published on: CommentsComments (2)
Police body camera law could be on the way

Credit: RENEE JONES SCHNEIDER/ Star Tribune

A White House adviser recently announced that the Obama administration supports the idea of a law requiring police to wear body cameras in an effort to restore trust between authorities and the people they are meant to serve and protect.

Chaos broke out in Ferguson, Missouri, last month after 18-year-old Michael Brown was fatally shot multiple times by police officer Darren Wilson.

Over the next few weeks, rubber bullets and tear gas were fired at protesters, and the entire nation watched as disturbing images from the small town were broadcast across the globe.

As the chaos has started to settle, the mistrust between law enforcements and the communities they are meant to serve remained behind, especially in Black communities.

To this day, people are still attempting to piece together exactly what happened in the moments before Brown was shot.

For many Americans, forcing police to wear body cameras could not only provide answers to these types of mysteries from now on but it could also help restore trust between the people and the authorities.

More than 150,000 people went online to sign a White House petition that urged President Barack Obama to “create a law” that would force all police to wear body cameras.

While the petition garnered a lot of online support, creating the new law is not in the president’s hands.

It would be up to Congress to bring that law into fruition.

The White House does, however, fully support the idea of requiring all police to wear body cameras.

Roy Austin, a White House adviser on Justice and Urban Affairs issues, told The Associated Press that the president and the rest of the administration believe body cameras could be one part of the overall solution.

Austin did point out, however, that it will take more than body cameras to restore trust.

According to Austin, the Justice Department is currently researching the best practices for using body cameras in addition to taking a closer look at just how much it will cost to get body cameras on every officer in the U.S.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top