Another Politician Attempts To Build A Wall Between The Public And The Police Who Serve Them
from the cops-need-to-have-rules-all-their-own dept
Body camera footage is a great tool for law enforcement accountability. But all the potential good can all be undone by ensuring the public has no access to the recordings. If recordings become just another internal "document," nothing has been gained by the addition of body-worn cameras.
That outcome is perfectly fine with some legislators, like Michigan Senator Rick Jones.
A House bill that would exempt police body camera video from being released to the public under Michigan's Freedom of Information Act is raising red flags among some attorneys and civil libertarians.Of course, Rick Jones -- a former sheriff with 31 years in law enforcement -- sees nothing wrong with preventing the public from keeping an eye on their public servants. This isn't being done to shield officers from accountability, according to Jones. No, this is being done to keep cops from being mocked by infamous cop-basher, the Internet.
The proposal by Sen. Rick Jones would amend Michigan's 1976 Freedom of Information Act by keeping police body camera audio and video shielded from public disclosure.
"This is a first step and it will be tweaked,'' he said. "All of the police I have talked with believe that there are many times that private moments are filmed and it's not the sort of thing you want somebody to FOIA and then put on the Internet for entertainment, for people to laugh at.''Jeezus. Got some very sensitive individuals hiding behind badges, bulletproof vests and FOIA exemptions. I think most would rather be laughed at than reviled. If the worst thing that happens to Michigan cops is a few embarrassing moments (and a host of just-as-embarrassing comments below them) being uploaded to YouTube, they should be grateful. It's far better than having footage of misconduct or excessive force circulating the 'net.
Even the senator's ostensible opponent -- the Michigan ACLU -- agrees that some footage should be exempt from public records requests.
"If the police are sitting in their squad car talking to one another about their personal matters – that doesn't need to be on YouTube,'' [ACLU's Miriam] Aukerman said. "If police go to someone's home and tell them your child has died or your child's been in an accident, that doesn't need to be out in the public.''Jones says the wording will be "tweaked," but it's unclear how much of it. So far, he's only talked to police officials and officers about their perspective. Until that changes, nothing in his amendment will either. As it stands now, the untweaked version grants a blanket exception to all body camera footage without exception. The following would be added to the list of items Michigan citizens can't obtain via FOIA requests:
(Z) AN AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDING RECORDED BY A BODY-WORN CAMERA WORN BY A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER IN THE COURSE OF HIS OR HER DUTIES AS A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.An earlier bill introduced by a Michigan representative in the House asked for a much slimmer exemption -- footage recorded in private homes. Jones wants it all exempt. Supposedly, he'll be meeting with the ACLU and other interested parties to discuss changes to the wording.
We'll see how much he's willing to budge, considering there's only room on his side for concessions. I'm guessing it won't be much. Jones didn't get named "Legislator of the Year" by the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police for nothing. He was the one who safely shepherded the state's asset forfeiture "reform" bill through the legislature -- one so badly-neutered by law enforcement meddling that the Michigan Association of Police Officers actually endorsed the final version.
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Filed Under: body cameras, foia, michigan, police, public, rick jones
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1. Any footage taken while a weapon, cuffs, baton, taser or similar item is out of its holster. Any footage leading up to such an event.
2. Any footage leading up to or containing an arrest, detainment, or similar. Any footage in which a member of the police or public is injured or could be reasonably inferred to have sustained injury.
3. Any outdoor footage when police sirens or lights are active.
4. Any footage showing the lead up and execution of a search warrant with a few exceptions (e.g., faces and names of all personas reasonably beloved to be minor are redacted/blurred)
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Passing bad laws just to have tried to fix a "problem" is of no benefit. They will sit in committee and waste time getting around to the tweaks, while collecting endorsements & contributions so long as it doesn't get meaningfully changed.
Protecting cops from being mocked on the internet is more important than allowing access to what could be criminal acts by those with badges. Perhaps the Senator would like to explain how embarrassment rates higher than exposing wrong-doing.
I don't think all cops are bad, but we can no longer trust the departments, internal affairs, review boards, courts, or arbitration to hold them accountable. Video makes it much harder for all of those image protectors to pretend it wasn't that bad or misconduct. We have seen how citizens recording have provided videos that totally destroyed the narrative being spun, video is needed and denying the public access shows a fear of being accountable.
Cops having private conversations on the clock should be able to be requested, as embarrassing as it might be. While you might capture someone discussing troubles at home, that might provide insight into the response to a DV complaint attended to later where the officer was less than professional. These recordings are not done secretly, so it is up to the officers to act professionally not demand laws be passed to protect them from butthurt.
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Okay. Show me the cops that are turning the bad cops in. Because any allegedly-good cop that doesn't rat out the bad ones IS A BAD COP.
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While we all want them to speak up, look at the system that puts unfit cops back in place. It is hard to speak up when the whole system doesn't give a shit and will punish you for rocking the boat.
If you want cops to speak up empower someone to hear the complaints and actually fire bad cops without the unions or arbitration able to override that decision. It is hard to change a system that punishes the whistleblower. See also - US Government.
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It is good to be a cop. You earn about 3 times what the average citizen does and you can do anything to anyone that you want.
The other thing Portland cops like to do is beat up people with mental health issues. Finally it got bad enough the FBI investigated. The FBI says "yeah, that is too much" but did nothing.
These guys are thugs. There is no way the government is going to let us know what they are doing.
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The Power of the Purse Resides with You!
No police transparency no public funding for the police.
Let Rick Jones and his ilk fund their not so crypto-police state with a bake sale.
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Re: The Power of the Purse Resides with You!
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This state has had actual case sof lead poisoning in the last two years, and no action was taken to rectify this, until about a month ago.
Something tells me there's something in the water in Michigan. I'll give you a clue - it's poisonous and impedes rational thought.
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God people...
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We need balance in this
So before we just allow anyone to grab the footage to do with it what they want there needs to be some guidelines and limitations. As far as I'm concerned if the cops are dealing with me in my house that's between me and the cops not someone looking to make a viral video who is not directly involved......my 2 cents worth.
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IMPEACH Them All
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Re: IMPEACH Them All
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You work for the public
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I'll say it.
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