Earlier on Wednesday, Boston City Council President Bill Linehan said he believes requiring police to wear body cameras is unnecessary.
Advertisement
And while police body cameras may be useful in a limited number of cases, they are not a solution to complex issues of race.
That prompted a response from the organization’s legal director Matthew Segal, who said on Twitter, “The ACLU favors cameras more for police accountability than for surveilling civilians”.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and police Commissioner William Evans don’t feel the cameras will do anything in regards to halting crime, shootings and other community problems.
Boston City Councilor Charles Yancey said, “It’s about time that Boston stands up and provides the opportunity for the general public to know that their interaction with police will be transparent”. No vote is scheduled yet.
“I think we should tread carefully for all concerns mentioned, constitutionally, cost to a lesser extent, but certainly I think we can handle this if we thoughtfully proceed together in working out these details”, he said.
“A device on someone’s lapel is not going to solve the historical relationship between the African-American community and the police”, he said Wednesday night.
Wednesday night the public also weighed in.
As WBUR previously reported, the ACLU recommended the use of body cameras after a report found blacks were disproportionately stopped by Boston officers. Latino people are stopped more than other folks. “In fact, the other way”, he said.
Evans added he is concerned that tipsters won’t approach police officers “if they know we’re wired”.
In the wake of a series of police involved shootings around the country – from California to Ferguson, Missouri, to Charleston, South Carolina – proponents say police body cameras would not only protect law-abiding citizens, but also exonerate police officers accused of doing something wrong.
Advertisement
Commissioner Evans told councilors his department has never said no to body cameras, just that they need more time to study their impact.
