As of late there have been many recordings or happenings of police brutality across the United States, some of which of sparked very strong movements. In Louisville citizens have responded with a petition on
calling for the implementation of body cameras on LMPD police officers. This website allows for anyone to create a petition with an explanation of their reasoning and goals related to the petition, which will then be sent to appropriate officials. According to the reasoning accompanying this petition(
) there were two African Americans killed by police officers every week across the United States for a span of seven years, ending in 2012. These statistics are unsurprising after events in Ferguson and the increased coverage of police brutality through social media outlets.
Although the LMPD stated they were going to issue body cameras by July
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according to an article on their own website’s home page written by Marcus Green of the WDRB 41 news team (
) there hasn’t been a camera seen yet. The LMPD Chief Steve Conrad has stated in the article written by Marcus Green that they are doing all they can to ensure they get the correct camera system for their department, though there is an issue with data storage. They have begun to seek out bids from vendors for systems that could manage the footage captured. Chief Steve Conrad was quoted saying "I truly wish we had all our officers equipped with cameras today, but we've got to make sure we're taking the proper steps."
However, it seems Louisville’s citizens have decided the wait should be over.
Those who support the petition are doing so because they believe the cameras will act as protection for citizens from police brutality or harassment and ensure fair treatment while promoting a sense of self-accountability for officers. Seeing as many civilians already hold some anger or fear towards officers due to videos of police gaining prominence on the internet, it is no surprise that the petition in Louisville has almost reached it’s goal of signatures already.
While there are plenty of professions that call for employees to be recorded or at least on camera at some point for security purposes, the cameras on officers in Louisville would still work a little differently. Petitioners are not calling for the cameras to be on 24/7 but rather only when officers are dealing with a crime. These precautions are meant to help protect citizens and dispel accusations against honest officers; to keep history from repeating, but could this desire for speed lessen efficiency?
