Police body cameras hold the promise of accountability, but carry the risk of becoming another tool of surveillance aimed at communities that are already heavily over-policed and heavily surveilled. Defending Rights & Dissent has created guidelines governing the use of police body cameras and the videos they produce.
View our testimony on Police Worn Body Cameras
The people have the right to film the police under the First Amendment, but police do not always respect this right. Police are prohibited from destroying devices or images by both the 14th Amendment’s due process clause and the 4th Amendment’s warrant requirement. The Local Civil Rights Restoration Act provides model language to protect the right to film the police.
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