Illinois State Lawmakers Vote To Eliminate Cash Bail
The move is part of a broader criminal justice reform bill that also ends prison gerrymandering, and mandates body cameras for all police departments.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jan 14, 2021
Boston Mayor Vetoes Restrictions on Police Force Against Protesters Despite Controversial Body Camera Video
‘It’s an insult to the activism and organizing that defined 2020, and falls far short of the transformational leadership that Boston deserves,’ one City Council member said.
Eoin Higgins Jan 07, 2021
Bodycam Video Shows ‘Mob Mentality’ Of Boston Police Who Responded To George Floyd Protests, Lawyer Says
Hours of video given exclusively to The Appeal show police officers bragging about attacking protesters and multiple instances of excessive force and the liberal use of pepper spray.
Eoin Higgins Dec 18, 2020
The Myth Of Technology As Equalizer
Spotlights like this one provide original commentary and analysis on pressing criminal justice issues of the day. You can read them each day in our newsletter, The Daily Appeal. The criminal legal system is unequal. Technology was supposed to help. But most of the time, technological advances end up magnifying inequality instead. Consider an example as […]
Sarah Lustbader Nov 25, 2019
Body Cameras And Tasers Rake In Billions For Axon, But They’re No Panacea For Police Violence
The popularity of Axon’s tech soared after the police killing of Michael Brown in 2014, but it may be doing more harm than good in protecting people from excessive force.
Jonathan Ben-Menachem Jun 10, 2019
New Study Finds Body Cameras Aren’t Objective Witnesses
People who view body cam footage of an incident are less likely to attribute blame to a police officer than those who see the same incident through the lens of a dashboard camera.
Nicole Wetsman Jan 29, 2019
Baltimore body camera controversy grows
In the last month, the Baltimore Police Department has been rocked by accusations that officers are staging or “reenacting” the discovery of drugs for the benefit of capturing, after the fact, the seizure of evidence on their body cameras. In response, Baltimore County State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby has decided to drop the charges in those cases — and possibly hundreds of […]
Alex S. Vitale Sep 19, 2017
In Minneapolis, a fatal police shooting raises important questions about body cameras
Justine Damond called 911 Saturday night because she was concerned about a possible assault in the alleyway behind her home. For reasons that remain unknown, she was shot and killed by police after they arrived to investigate the incident. So far police have offered no explanations for the shooting. The officers’ body cameras were off […]
Alex S. Vitale Jul 17, 2017