My husband was shot while in police custody, a situation that turned our world upside down. Handcuffed in the backseat of a police car, the officers allegedly planted a weapon on him to obscure the truth of the incident. Now, he is paralyzed, and we are left with a life that has irreversibly changed.

There is an urgent need for complete transparency in all encounters with law enforcement, to prevent such tragic incidents from happening again. This is why we are urging our lawmakers to pass legislation requiring all law enforcement officers to activate body-cams from the beginning to the end of every single incident they are involved in.

The absence of unedited footage of law enforcement incidents has on numerous occasions, proved to be the main obstacle to justice. The National Institute of Justice reports that body-worn cameras can "reduce the rate of use-of-force incidents and complaints about officer conduct." Yet, often, cameras are either turned off or not employed optimally.

Making it mandatory for all law enforcement officers to activate body-cams for the full duration of every incident, without any exceptions, is a significant step towards fostering accountability. Failure to do so should carry implications that could include dismissal of charges due to the lack of credible and impartial evidence.

This fight is personal to us, but it extends far beyond our deeply tragic situation. This is a call for the justice system to remove any potential for mistakes, bias, or intentional obscuring of the truth in its interactions with the public.

Please sign this petition to demand that body-cams be mandatory and consistently utilized in all incidents involving law enforcement officers.