McDuffie to hold a hearing on body-worn cameras
For Immediate Release: Monday, April 13, 2015
Contact: Jon Mandel, 202-297-0152, JMandel@dccouncil.us
Washington, DC – Today, Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie (D – Ward 5) raised concerns on Mayor Muriel Bowser's proposed legislation for body-worn cameras. In the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Support Act of 2015, the Mayor includes language to exempt body-worn camera footage from Freedom of Information ("FOIA") requests. To date, all FOIA requests for the footage produced from the pilot program have been denied by the Metropolitan Police Department ("MPD").
"I support the adoption of body cameras because I am a strong supporter of holding our law enforcement agency accountable to the public, in addition to protecting our police officers against false complaints," indicated McDuffie. "I do not, however, believe we should be making any decisions - which go to the heart of the transparency of this initiative - without having a robust hearing focused on the issue. So, at this time, I cannot support the proposal to include language in the Budget Support Act that will exempt body-worn camera footage from FOIA requests.
In addition, the public has not received a report on the six-month pilot program that MPD initiated in October of 2014[1]. We need to evaluate the pilot program and ensure that there is a transparent review process, which addresses the serious privacy concerns that exist, before the Council signs off on any additional funding to fully implement the initiative[2]."
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[1] MPD and Body-Worn Cameras: http://mpdc.dc.gov/node/901462
[2] Mayor Bowser's Proposed FY 2016 Budget: Pathways to the Middle Class: http://mayor.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/mayormb/publication/attachments/Budget%20Rollout_v12.pdf
For more information, please visit www.kenyanmcduffie.com or contact our office at (202) 724-8028. Follow Councilmember McDuffie at www.twitter.com/CM_McDuffie and on www.facebook.com/KenyanRMcDuffie
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