Questioning police body cameras across the Midwest

This month, I had a chance to invite audiences in two midwestern cities at the center of the Black Lives Matter uprising to reconsider the conventional wisdom on police body cameras.

In early April, I visited my hometown, St. Louis, for an April 2 discussion with SLU law professor Justin Hansford sponsored by the school's American Constitution Society chapter and covered by the St. Louis American. Professor Hansford'swriting in the Washington Post had drawn my attention, and reflects similar concerns also raised by my colleague Nadia Kayyali at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

On April 18, I spoke in Cleveland at the Martin Luther King Jr Public Library throughout a forum hosted by the Greater Cleveland Civil and Human Rights Network. The Cleveland Plain Dealercovered the forum, and posted video of some of my comments.

I was happy to meet, and generally impressed by, City Council member Matt Zone, who demonstrated an open mind towards each of the many issues that community members raised. Especially impressive were Shakyra Diaz from the ACLU of Ohio, and Alice Ragland, a youth activist and poet whose comments consistently revealed tremendous vision.