Wednesday, January 21, 2015

New Bill Asks for Arizona Police Officers to Wear Body Cameras

Posted By on Wed, Jan 21, 2015 at 5:33 PM

Prompted by the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson and cops choking Eric Garner in Staten Island as he screamed "I can't breathe," Democratic state Rep. Reginald Bolding of Phoenix today filed a bill that would require police officers to wear body cameras.

Arizona is no stranger to these events. Last year, police in Phoenix shot and killed Rumain Brisbon, an unarmed African-American man who was allegedly selling drugs.

From HB 2511:
A. EVERY PEACE OFFICER SHALL WEAR A CAMERA THAT ELECTRONICALLY RECORDS AUDIO AND VIDEO WHILE THE OFFICER IS ENGAGED IN THE PERFORMANCE OF OFFICIAL DUTIES THAT ARE LIKELY TO RESULT IN A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OR ARREST.
B. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL SHALL ESTABLISH GUIDELINES OR DIRECTIVES, AS APPROPRIATE, TO IMPLEMENT AND ENFORCE THIS SECTION.
Bolding also sponsors another legislation that asks for police shootings to be investigated by an outside group.

On the other hand, Republican state Sen. John Kavanagh is considering legislation limiting the release of video captured by police cameras, according to The Associated Press.
Kavanagh says the increasing use of wearable video cameras raises serious privacy concerns for both police and the public.

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