Police Officer Behaving Badly? ACLU Has An App For That
DENVER (CBS4) - Police officers are wearing body cameras, but what about citizens recording the officers? The American Civil Liberties Union in Colorado on Thursday unveiled a new app for phones and people who witness suspected improper behavior.
Colorado is part of a growing trend. By the end of the year some 20 states will have a free Mobile Justice app. Press record, and whatever is recording will go directly to the ACLU.
YouTube is loaded with apparent examples of police brutality. A Colorado Springs man even recorded himself during a police stop.
"My brother is being put in handcuffs, we were pulled over for no reason," Ryan Brown is heard saying in the video .
The reason given was a cracked windshield. Moments later Brown was pulled from his car.
"This is assault ... you see this? You see this? ... Excessive force," Brown says in the video.
His video helped get charges dropped, but now the ACLU of Colorado is joining nine other states in making a recording like Brown's easier.
"The goal is to hold the police accountable," said Mark Silverstein, ACLU of Colorado Legal Director. "When police are being photographed or being monitored by citizens it tends to temper the behavior of everyone involved."
The video is sent directly to the ACLU the minute the user starts recording no matter what the police might do with the person's cellphone.
Another feature allows app users to receive a signal telling them where a possible abuse might be taking place a few blocks away.
"By arming citizens with the phone and the app people know they can help to witness and document," Silverstein said.
Denver police officers already wear body cameras. In a statement, Chief Robert White says he and his police department "value transparency and accountability, and video recordings of officer interactions can be a useful tool in these areas, which factored into the department creating a body-worn camera program. Citizens are already videotaping police interactions, and we have no problem with that as long as people maintain a safe distance and do not interfere with officers while they are performing their duties."
