Group pushes for police body cams
Wikicommons
A group is asking for legislation requiring Massachusetts police to wear cameras such as this lapel camera.
A volunteer group called the Campaign for Digital Fourth Amendment Rights will push Thursday for Massachusetts to join South Carolina as one of two states to mandate police body cameras.
Legislation (H 2170 / S 1257) before the Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security Thursday morning that was filed by Sen. Jamie Eldridge, an Acton Democrat, and Rep. Denise Provost, a Somerville Democrat, would require every officer to carry a body camera in plain view.
The Boston Police Department launched a body camera pilot program last year, wading into an accountability measure that for some raises concerns about privacy and whether it might hamper police officers ability to have forthright conversations.
The Digital Fourth group argues that with more than 1,100 Americans shot by police in 2015 and a police shooting rate in Massachusetts 16 times that of Germany, "Something needs to change."
The Belmont-based group said the bill was based in part on model legislation developed by the Harvard Black Law Students Association, and said it recommends some amendments to make bodycam footage public records and prohibit officers from reviewing footage before writing their initial reports.
Shekia Scott, of the Boston Police Cameras Action Team, and Sam Tracy, of the Cambridge Human Rights Commission, plan to testify, according to Digital Fourth.
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