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The Afro-American, May 16, 2015 - May 22, 2015
May 16, 2015 - May 16, 2015, The Washington/PG Afro-American
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D.C.
Judiciary Hearing: Access to Videos on Body Cameras Face Objection By Linda Poulson Special to the AFRO
A judiciary hearing on the use of body cameras in D.C. was held May 7.
Photo by Linda Poulson
Questions regarding access to police worn body camera videos, laws for footage, and the public’s role in viewing videos raised concerns on accountability and privacy at a recent judiciary hearing on the use of body cameras in D.C. The May 7 hearing at the John H. Wilson Building in Northwest D.C. was presented by Kenyan R. McDuffie (D-Ward 5),chairman of the Judiciary Committee on the “Metropolitan Police Department’s (MPD) Body-Worn Camera Program.” “Accountability both individual and organization, requires transparency,” stated D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier in her testimony. “But we also have an obligation to protect the privacy of those with whom we interact.” Lanier emphasized that restricted footage would be seen by the appropriate parties. The District’s police department began a body camera pilot program
“We want police-community relations, but what we don’t want is a blanket FOIA exemption.” –Judiciary Committee Chairman Kenyan R. McDuffie (D-Ward 5) on October 1, 2014. The $1 million project was for six months in which 165 police officers participated. “We are in an age where this type of technology is becoming more common, and we want to capitalize on that. The presence of cameras will benefit the community and MPD members by improving police services, increasing accountability, and enhancing public safety,” Lanier said. “While the majority of policecommunity interactions are appropriate, the use of body-worn cameras may be the catalyst that is needed to transform those that are not,” Lanier continued. According to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s State of the District Address, she agrees the use of body cameras will benefit the city. “So last October the MPD
UDC Names New President
Police Reform Continued from A1
though that, too, has been bogged down with matters of legality, funding, and logistics. Ferguson, Mo.; Arizona, Florida, California, Texas, Baltimore, Kansas and other jurisdictions either already have body cameras or are investigating its use. Just last week, the D.C. Council held a hearing on the matter. Most seem to agree it is a useful tool for providing accountability, transparency, and accuracy in interactions between the public and police. However, advocates warn, that is but a small part of the solution. “Body cameras are not a panacea,” House said. “It is kind of that low-hanging fruit that many agencies will take – and we’re not opposed to that, but they’re not going to get away with just doing that.” “What we are talking about is changing the very premise of policing in America,” she added, “and body cameras cannot do that.” Most officials and activists agree that the slow pace of progress on police reform could be attributable to the deeply entrenched nature of the problem. “We’ve had to deal with aspects of police misconduct and brutality for decades,” said Shelton. “In {Souls of Black Folk}, W.E.B. DuBois talked about law enforcement as one of the biggest challenges for African Americans.” The real difference, today, is the prevalence of mobile recording devices and social media which have brought the ongoing travesty from the darkness into the light. “But for that, a great many people would not be willing to acknowledge there is a different relationship between African-American
launched a pilot program to test the use of body cameras,” Bowser said. “And today I’m here to say that the pilot is over and that we will expand the use of body cameras to all MPD patrol in the next 18 months.” Bowser’s budget and financial plan, “Pathways to the Middle Class,” includes an allotment for body cameras. The budget proposal also wants an exemption of video footage from the District’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) under public records law, McDuffie, along with other opponents did not want video footage to be an exemption. “We want to make sure the MPD has the tools to do their job,” McDuffie said. “We want police-community relations, but what we don’t want is a blanket FOIA exemption.”
communities and police and White and upper-middle-class communities and police,” said House. For example, she said, “many urban communities are over-policed” with disproportionately high numbers of police officers for their populations compared to significantly fewer officers in low-minority, jurisdictions with much larger populations. “Police continue to use over-policing of communities for minor incidents out of a belief that it would deter major crimes. But it’s not working. If anything, it leads to higher incidents of racial profiling and instead of communities of color looking up to police, they fear police,” House said. Shelton supported that statement, saying in the NAACP’s discussions with different Black communities, many say that “police officers there appear like an occupying force and not as if they are there to protect and serve. The residents say they felt like they were under siege.” Meanwhile, he added, Blacks in majority-White communities reported being targeted and racially profiled as if “officers were there to maintain segregation.” “The relationship between police and communities of color have always been somewhat strained,” acknowledged Cedric Alexander, president of The National Association of Black Law Enforcement Executives. “A great deal of work needs to be done to continue – and in some cases begin – to create relationships between police and communities.” For example, Alexander said, in DeKalb County,
Ga., where he is the chief of police, “We have a department that demographically reflects the community. We have a department that is fully engaged in community meetings. Members of the community have access to all precinct commanders. And the department has relationships with the leaders of the county and those in the community. Therefore, even when we have our challenges, it becomes easier to work through.” Alexander also cited Indianapolis, Ind. and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. as jurisdictions where the police departments have made concerted efforts to foster amicable relationships between communities and law enforcement. Besides fostering good relations, officer training – including standard guidelines for use of force, diversity awareness and sensitivity, etc. – is also a must, Alexander said. Building public trust and ongoing officer training were among the recommendations included in the March 2015 interim report from President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. The use of body-worn cameras among police officers and other technology was also recommended. And, in December, the president proposed a three-year $263 million investment package to provide 50,000 bodyworn cameras, a $75 million outlay that states and local jurisdictions would have to match; expand training for law enforcement agencies; and supply other resources needed to implement reform. But Congress also has an
important role to play, House said. “There’s legislation that can be passed to help facilitate this process. It’s not just a state responsibility,” she said. “We all can do something,” she said of the general public. “We cannot allow entire communities to be trapped and targeted and just stand by. Start contacting your state elected officials and members of Congress; get engaged through social media or any forum you have and say something. Everybody doesn’t have to march, just do one thing to make a change.”
will have a better, safer police department and city for all the citizens of Baltimore.” During a question and answer period after the press conference Garcia, one of Sgt. White’s lawyers went on to criticize Marilyn Mosby, the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City by saying, “You’re going to see accuracy was sacrificed for speed. You’re going to see a ‘chuck and duck’ style
of prosecution that is not fair or unbiased to anyone.” He added,” You’re going to see that Ms. White was steamrolled into this. She was at the wrong place at the wrong time and had nothing to do with this.” Her other attorney, Bates, then appeared to lay the groundwork for Sgt. White’s defense. “We’ve asked the state’s attorney numerous times to allow us to see the
By AFRO Staff The University of the District of Columbia selected Ronald Mason, Jr. as its new president out of 90 candidates. He will succeed Dr. James E. Lyons, Sr., who has served as interim president of UDC since March 2013. Mason’s presidency becomes effective on July 1. Mason served as Ronald J. Mason Jr. president at two of the nation’s well-known HBCUs, including Southern University in Baton Rouge, La. and Jackson State University in Mississippi.
Funeral Services for Fallen D.C. Fire Fighter By AFRO Staff Funeral services for 44-year-old Lt. Kevin McRae, the 100th D.C. firefighter to lose his life in the line of duty, will occur on May 15. According to a press release from D.C. Fire and EMS Department, a public viewing will be at 9 a.m. and a public service will follow at 11 a.m. at the D.C. Armory, 2001 East Capitol St. SE. Following the service, McRae will be buried at Fort Lincoln Cemetery, 3401 Bladensburg Rd. in Brentwood, Md. “Lt. Kevin McRae Lt. Kevin McRae collapsed and later was a hero,” D.C. Mayor died after putting out a fire in a highMuriel Bowser said in the rise building in N.W. D.C. Facebook photo release. “For more than two decades he served the city with distinction and made the ultimate sacrifice while helping others. Lt. McRae may be gone, but he will never be forgotten.” According to news reports, McRae, officer in charge for Engine Company #6 on the 4th platoon collapsed after putting out a fire in a high-rise building in Northwest D.C. He died later at the hospital. An official cause of death has not been determined. McRae is survived by his wife, three children and his mother.
Black Cop Group Continued from A1
case, in which a Baltimore police officer was captured on video tape punching Truss in the face repeatedly. Lisa Robinson, vice president of Vanguard, was also on hand to speak in favor of Sgt. White. She said the group is looking forward to speaking to the Department of Justice during their investigation of the Freddie Gray case and wants to bring up several issues themselves. “Those
include policies and procedures in terms of hiring, firing, disciplinary actions as well as promotions and transfers, policing strategies,” she said. “Our goal is also to look at the stop snitching culture. The stop snitching culture is prevalent on the streets of Baltimore as well as within the Baltimore Police Department.” She went on to say, “It is our hope that at the end of this process that Baltimore
evidence and they haven’t. I guess for some reason the state feels that they have evidence that Ms. White didn’t do anything but before Ms. White got to the point to not do anything Ms. White would have to know that something needed to be done.” Asked what Sgt. White had told them about her actions on the day of Freddie Gray’s arrest, Bates said, “I can’t necessarily go into what
the client has told us but let’s just say we feel very confident about our defense.” Mosby’s press office did not return calls by AFRO press time. However she released a statement, May 5, that read in part, “While the evidence we have obtained through our independent investigation does substantiate the elements of the charges filed, I refuse to litigate this case through the media.”