Press

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the DC Council passed Bill 21-0351, the “Body-Worn Camera Program Amendment Act of 2015.” The American Civil Liberties Union of the Nation’s Capital (ACLU-DC) applauds Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie’s (D-Ward 5) steadfast leadership in the implementation of this legislation. Despite this outstanding leadership, the bill was amended to allow officers of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to view body-worn camera (BWC) recordings prior to writing their initial reports, except in cases of police shootings. The original text of the bill did not allow officers to view BWC recordings prior to writing their initial reports.

The ACLU-DC expresses its extreme disappointment in the DC Council for voting to include this amendment. “If the real intent of the BWC program is accountability, transparency, and fostering police-community relations, this provision would have been kept as is,” said Monica Hopkins-Maxwell, Executive Director of ACLU-DC. Instead, this provision tips the scales of justice in favor of law enforcement by allowing officers to view BWC recordings prior to writing their initial reports, but prevents potential defendants the same access prior to making statements. “Allowing officers to review footage before making an initial statement threatens to taint investigations, undermines the use of body-worn cameras as a tool for accountability, and hurts the public trust that BWCs should be building,” Hopkins-Maxwell said.