Nothing to hide – The Washington Post

dcogcadmin | April 22, 2015

EQUIPPING POLICE officers with body cameras can be a powerful tool in building trust between citizens and law enforcement. It can show that police have nothing to hide and are willing to be held to account. That’s assuming, of course, that the video that is shot is made available to the public. Keeping the footage secret defeats the purpose of the cameras; that’s why D.C. officials are wrong to want to automatically exempt the footage from public records laws.

A pilot program that outfitted 165 officers with cameras has been underway in the District since October, and Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) wants to expand its reach to 2,800 officers over 18 months. In her proposed budget seeking $5.1 million for the program, [Read More]