Mississippi officials say a new policy will increase the public's access to bodycam footage in cases of police-involved shootings. This comes as new state law requires cases of police violence to be reviewed by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation. Previously, the agency would deny requests for bodycam footage in these investigations, with videos being made public primarily through municipalities. Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell says he wants to create a statewide standard of transparency for law enforcement.
“I believe that transparency particularly in these types of incidences creates more faith in the criminal justice process by the general public, and it eliminates the misinformation that can be spread and the conspiracy theories that often develop when such evidence is kept from the public.”
Tindell says the decision was also made in consideration of the public outcry for police transparency following police killings of several Black Americans last year.
Alicia Netterville, Deputy Director of the ACLU of Mississippi, says this transparency will not just help protect law enforcement agencies from false claims, but also help keep the public aware of police violence.
“The public has a right to decide if they feel comfortable calling the police. The public has a right to know if they actually feel like the police’s purpose is to protect and serve. And families definitely shouldn’t have to wait or have to be in the dark about what happened to their loved ones when they’re murdered by the police or anybody else.”
Experts say this increased accountability could also deter law enforcement officers from seeking deadly force in non-violent situations.
