100 signatures reached
To: Police commissioners across the country
Identity and Transparency Now
We urge you to require (with no exception) that police keep their badge numbers visible and wear body cams (when available) while patroling protests.
Why is this important?
Transparency and a means for identification keeps protesters AND police accountable for their behaviors. If citizens are asked to carry identification when they drive (so they can be identified if they break the law) so too should police be required to show identification if they break the law.
PEACEFUL protesters in my city have been met with completely unwarranted aggression from police whose badges were covered up with tape. What message does this send other than "we will not be held accountable for our actions".
NO ONE is above the law, even those who swore to uphold it, and even under the guise of keeping people and property safe from "violent" protestors. Police officers acting as if they are above the law is EXACTLY what caused this outrage to begin with. Even if there are only "a few bad apples" within the police force, those apples didn't grow over night - they were only held accountable for their offenses when proof of their conduct was made publicly available on social media.
Perhaps if all officers had to wear body cams regularly and ensure their badges were visible so citizens can identify them, it would help you weed out those "few bad apples" BEFORE they murder innocent people.
PEACEFUL protesters in my city have been met with completely unwarranted aggression from police whose badges were covered up with tape. What message does this send other than "we will not be held accountable for our actions".
NO ONE is above the law, even those who swore to uphold it, and even under the guise of keeping people and property safe from "violent" protestors. Police officers acting as if they are above the law is EXACTLY what caused this outrage to begin with. Even if there are only "a few bad apples" within the police force, those apples didn't grow over night - they were only held accountable for their offenses when proof of their conduct was made publicly available on social media.
Perhaps if all officers had to wear body cams regularly and ensure their badges were visible so citizens can identify them, it would help you weed out those "few bad apples" BEFORE they murder innocent people.