This petition calls upon lawmakers to enact a bill requiring police departments to archive all body camera footage in a publicly accessible online database. Our aim is for this legislation to dramatically increase accountability, transparency, and improve the public’s relationship with law enforcement, all whilst preserving the integrity of the judicial process. Today, you have the ability to promote justice and positive change by choosing to add your signature or share this petition.

Body cameras have been utilized by local police departments since the beginning of this decade, achieving widespread use in recent years. Their popular usage was intended to aid in government transparency and present clarity and factual evidence when police altercations with individuals came into question. However, lawmakers have failed to pass laws that require the transfer of this vital information from the government to the American people.

Citizens should not have to fight extensive legal battles to obtain the body camera footage of officers involved in any form of suspected misconduct or brutality. Body-cam footage from Breonna Taylor's case is still yet to be released. We demand justice for her and for all cases where body-cam footage goes unreleased for months, goes missing, or was never collected.

Your signature on this petition will help us to bring the issue of insufficient body camera laws to the forefront of politics and demand legislative action. We the people propose a bill that would require police departments to archive all body-cam footage in a publicly accessible online database. There, all footage not being utilized in an ongoing investigation can become immediately available for public viewing, and all footage that is involved in an investigation can be released upon the conclusion of the trial process.

We propose that body camera footage must be immediately logged onto this archive, to prevent tampering. A grace period of a week may be allowed before the footage is made public to allow leniency for non-immediate trials. The immediate logging of the footage is essential, as it will prevent any tampering or loss of footage from occurring during a period where legal action may be debated. This maintains judicial integrity whilst allowing the people to gain oversight over the officers we entrust to uphold our safety, security, and privacy. 

This bill is not anti-law enforcement, it is pro-truth. The people of the United States give agents of the state certain powers that we do not bestow upon the average American citizen, such as the open-carry of firearms and ability to invade one’s privacy or stop one’s vehicle. This conference of trust is a social contract, and while we relinquish certain rights, it requires that the government may not infringe upon them unless deemed absolutely necessary for the rule of law. It is absolutely necessary that oversight is required in this mandate.

We expect our government officials to be honest with the American people, whether they be the President of the United States or local law enforcement. Because we trust these people with a vast amount of power, there must be checks in place to ensure accountability, transparency, and justice for the American people. This petition is an effort to grab lawmakers’ attention, to prove that the American people desire action and address our elected officials who are the only people capable of creating this archive and improving our system.

This is not going to solve the epidemic of police brutality, nor will this bring an end to dishonesty or racism among certain police officers or departments. Change is necessary, and a public archive of body-camera footage is a massive step towards transparency which we should have enacted in the very beginning of their usage. This measure is not impractical nor grand, but merely a reasonable request that can extensively promote healthy relationships between officers and their communities.

You can create change, and we need your signature.