Mayor Appoints Group To Assess Body Camera Use For Baltimore Police
BALTIMORE (WJZ)—Allegations of misconduct continue to haunt the Baltimore City Police Department. Now city leaders are taking steps to put extra eyes on the streets.
A proposal to require every Baltimore City officer to wear a body camera is moving forward.
Meghan McCorkell has more on the steps being taken.
The mayor introduced a group of community and city leaders tasked with looking into issues surrounding police body cameras.
A shocking video shows a Baltimore City police officer striking a man again and again.
It's just one example of excessive force complaints that have plagued the department for years.
"It is with heavy hearts that we see the despicable acts of a few bad actors that continue to tarnish the uniform," Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said.
A recent Baltimore Sun investigation reveals more than 100 people have won settlements against the department, costing the city more than $11.5 million.
Now the city is moving forward with a plan to increase transparency, using police body cameras.
"Body cameras offer us a unique opportunity to change the very way in which we interact with citizens and the way they interact with us also as a police department," said Anthony Batts, city police commissioner.
Now the mayor has formed a task force to hammer out some of the regulations that could surround body cameras.
Those issues include the cost, privacy concerns, storage of the video and other policies.
"When police are recording us, it does raise significant privacy concerns. It raises concerns about the creation of a giant voice or image database," said David Rocah, ACLU Maryland.
ACLU officials say there also needs to be specific guidelines for when those cameras must be turned on.
"When they're making an arrest, when they're conducting stop, when they're executing a warrant, when they're making a search," Rocah said.
The task force will release its recommendations within the next three to four months.
Several cities, including Washington, D.C. and Laurel, Md., have launched police body camera programs.
The mayor's task force is comprised of church and community leaders, as well the police union and the ACLU.
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