A new DOJ report released Wednesday concluded that Ferguson’s Police Department has disproportionately targeted blacks for stops and arrests and engaged in other racially discriminatory tactics. The findings could result in a lawsuit, or more likely, a mutual agreement to reform Ferguson police practices.
But in addition to federally-monitored changes, local activists plan on combating police misconduct in their own way: continued systematic, citizen-led filming of the cops.
With police cameras a contentious topic among lawmakers, who are unable to agree on the best use of video footage, 35-year-old Ferguson resident David Whitt views his grassroots effort to catch police activity on film as the most effective and most immediate way to hold police accountable. Whitt has been leading an effort to film the cops since protests erupted last August, through a group called We CopWatch. The group hasn’t released any of its footage yet, because they’re saving it all for a lawsuit.
“Body cams have too many variables,” Whitt said. “Often, you can’t see the cop, and sometimes the video is really close up. The camera isn’t in position, and there’s no way to use the footage. [And] cops are in control of all of that. The people stopped by police are always the bad guys.” He also compared police cameras to Tasers, which were implemented as a way to reduce the use of deadly force. That technology hasn’t prevented officer-involved shootings, and there’s no guarantee that body cameras will achieve their intended purpose — as evidenced by the officer who warned her colleagues that they were being filmed, before quickly turning off a dashboard camera.
According to Whitt, the advantage of a community-based watchdog unit is that it combines cop watching with classes about the legal and law enforcement systems. The group is preparing to launch Cop Watch College, to expand access to educational materials about legal observing. The class will also incorporate quizzes to enforce information about civilians’ rights. With those tools, Whitt and his peers believe that they can re-frame officer-civilian relations, and become part of a larger conversation about reforming Ferguson’s police department.
Whitt originally learned about cop watching from Jacob Crawford, who formed a sister watch group in Berkeley. After meeting Whitt, Crawford started a GoFundMe page to raise money to purchase cameras for Ferguson residents who wanted to film officer encounters with protesters. Between August 9, when the incident occurred, and the day of Wilson’s non-indictment, 210 cameras were passed out to record police activity in Ferguson. Interest in cop watching hasn’t plateaued since August, despite the non-indictment of Officer Daniel Pantaleo, who was filmed putting Eric Garner in a fatal chokehold. In fact, Ferguson residents saw the decision as a reason to get involved with the local cop watch movement, since effective cop watching requires discretion and good video quality. We CopWatch will give away 200 additional cameras in the near future.
“Watching police is almost like an art,” said Whitt. “You have to understand the system and watch the procedures.”
Despite Whitt’s lukewarm support for police body cameras, lawmakers recognize the activist’s role in spearheading cop watch activity, so he’s been called upon for comment and insight in the state legislature. Whitt may not agree with their approach, but he doesn’t want to be labeled a radical either. Conversing with politicians is just one tactic he uses to push a long-term agenda.
Two bills introduced in the state senate would use a 1 percent sales tax and a one cent tax on firearms and ammunition to fund body cameras for all law enforcement departments, but a bill introduced late January would shield body cam footage from public viewing and prevent legislators from requiring body cam implementation in every police department.
Capitalizing on national attention and lawmakers’ interest in filming officers, Whitt and his peers hope to paint a picture of daily life in Ferguson with their own footage. “We need to be able to see it from the people’s perspective,” Whitt said. “We need to control our own narrative and encounters. We’re controlling our own media.”