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

By | Published on September 17, 2014
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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.

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