One painful subject is the acquittal of Darren Wilson, the white police officer who shot the unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown. On Monday Pres. Obama asked for $263 million to improve relations between community members and the police. A key part of his proposal asks for $75 million for police body cameras according to nbcnews.com. This move is aimed at helping hold police responsible for their actions, where if there is a claim of excessive use of force there is evidence that is more reliable than an eye witness testimony.
There is a real issue with police brutality in this country. Look at New York’s stop and frisk, or the continued outrage in Ferguson, Mo. that has sparked many others into action. Wednesday, students in Denver’s East High walked out carrying signs that read “hands up, don’t shoot” and “Justice for Michael”, according to kdvr Denver and protesters’ twitter feeds. Nationwide protests will continue in the hopes of finally finding justice for Brown and other victims. One thousand students marched to the capital in Denver, what’s to say there won’t be a march in Cheyenne?
Wyoming may be a small state, but issues of body cameras, excessive use of force and the outcome of the Wilson trial are debated all around us and will leave lasting effects. There are police departments in this state that wear body cameras, like Greybull, perhaps there will be many more. With Obama’s proposed funding, look forward to knowing that soon there may be videos of interactions with Laramie and UW Police Department.
Evidence from police body cameras in California showed a decrease in complaints of excessive use of force. Problems of police brutality or police officers unfairly targeting minorities may never completely go away, but Obama’s proposal is a step in the right direction. Secrets and injustices have a way of being brought to light. If there is nothing to hide, if former officer Wilson was in fact just doing his job, then there should be nothing to fear.
One of the tenants of our country is government transparency and accountability. Those who are sworn to protect and serve do not get a free pass. The majority of police officers do a great job of upholding the law, but the few who don’t need to be held responsible for their actions. We may never truly live up to the idea of equal protection under the law, but with more protests and body cameras we can help close the gap between theory and reality.
