The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri launched a smart phone app called the ACLU of Missouri Mobile Justice app — an empowerment tool for those who feel their civil rights are being violated by law enforcement officers.
St. Louis City Police Officers turn off dash cam before beating a teen
Officers pulled over Cortez Bufford, 18, and a passenger on April 10, 2014. A dashcam video clip at the center of a $500,000 police excessive force lawsuit filed a lawsuit on Jan. 22, 2015, shows St. Louis police abruptly turning off the camera before they allegedly continue to assault an 18-year-old man, with one officer heard to announce, "Hold up, everybody, hold up. We’re red right now, so if you guys are worried about cameras, just wait."
St. Louis Man Records Cops Black Mailing Him Into Framing Someone for a Weapons Charge!
The video below showing the actions of a police officer from St. Louis County Municipality of St. George provides an example of the types of abuse some people endure from bad cops.
The Android app, which can be downloaded for free through the ACLU of Missouri website, has three main functions and Know Your Rights information. Record allows citizens to capture exchanges between police officers and themselves or other community members in audio and video files that are automatically sent to the ACLU of Missouri. Witness sends out an alert when someone is stopped by police so that community members can move toward the location and document the interaction. Report gives the app user the option to complete an incident report and send it directly to the ACLU of Missouri for review. Know Your Rights provides an overview of what rights protect you when you are stopped by law enforcement officers.
I know there are many good polices officers. I personally know several police officers and a friend of mine that was a St. Louis police officer was killed years ago. People need protection from bad cops, not the good ones. When police officers committ what are clearly serious violations of the law and are not held accountable, people lose faith in the system. Perception is reality and the rap video below, which was created before the deaths of both Eric Garner and Michael Brown, expresses the perception many people have of the police.
Warning: The video includes several clips of police brutality which are graphic and shocking.
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