Increasingly, police departments nationwide are getting fitted with body cameras, so that their actions are more transparent to the public. But, if the policies surrounding the use and access to cameras and their footage isn’t also transparent, then the cameras are basically worthless.
North Carolina has a law that pretty much exempts body cam footage from public record, go figure. So, when a 15-year-old named Jose Charles says he was violently assaulted by police and pushed for the release of the footage showing the “misconduct,” he was denied.
Greensboro City Council and the local Police Community Review Board agrees with Charles that the footage should be released; however, the police department and a local judge are fighting to keep it private. North Carolina’s state law gives the department discretion on what footage to make public or keep private. Even more ridiculous than that, the judge claims to side with the officers because release of the footage may “harm the reputation of Jose Charles and members of his family.” You know, the same Jose Charles demanding that the video be released.
Charles Blain is the executive director of Restore Justice USA, a Houston-based criminal justice reform project. He also regularly writes on issues regarding the economic management of major cities.