Detroit's proposed police video ordinance is sparking controversy among activists and critics, who argue that the measure would still protect officers from accountability. The city council's plan requires some police footage to be made public within 30 days of an incident, but it includes numerous exemptions that could lead to a lack of transparency.
Critics say the ordinance has too many loopholes, allowing police to withhold footage under various circumstances, such as joint task forces, police union contracts, or potential civil lawsuits. The proposal also permits redactions and grants city officials broad discretion over what information is released to the public. This has led some activists to claim that the measure does not provide meaningful transparency.
Some critics are pushing for stronger legislation that would require police to release unedited footage of incidents where officers use force, including those resulting in injury or death. They argue that such footage belongs to taxpayers and should be accessible without delay.
Detroit resident Victoria Camille says that a 30-day delay is too long, especially in cases where police have already shot someone. She believes that families and the public deserve timely access to information about how the police department conducts its business, particularly when force results in harm.
Deputy Police Chief Michael Parish has stated that videos would only be edited to redact the faces of victims or witnesses. However, some activists believe that this still allows for selective release of information and may not provide sufficient transparency.
Detroit's proposed ordinance is seen as a step towards greater accountability, but its exemptions and limitations have raised concerns among those who advocate for police transparency.
Critics say the ordinance has too many loopholes, allowing police to withhold footage under various circumstances, such as joint task forces, police union contracts, or potential civil lawsuits. The proposal also permits redactions and grants city officials broad discretion over what information is released to the public. This has led some activists to claim that the measure does not provide meaningful transparency.
Some critics are pushing for stronger legislation that would require police to release unedited footage of incidents where officers use force, including those resulting in injury or death. They argue that such footage belongs to taxpayers and should be accessible without delay.
Detroit resident Victoria Camille says that a 30-day delay is too long, especially in cases where police have already shot someone. She believes that families and the public deserve timely access to information about how the police department conducts its business, particularly when force results in harm.
Deputy Police Chief Michael Parish has stated that videos would only be edited to redact the faces of victims or witnesses. However, some activists believe that this still allows for selective release of information and may not provide sufficient transparency.
Detroit's proposed ordinance is seen as a step towards greater accountability, but its exemptions and limitations have raised concerns among those who advocate for police transparency.
... I mean, is it? I guess the problem is that there are just too many loopholes in this ordinance 
. They're like, "oh, if we're working with another agency, we don't have to share the footage"... what even is the point of having a video ordinance if it's just gonna be ignored 
? On one hand, I get where activists are coming from – they wanna see some transparency, you know? But on the other hand... like, wouldn't 30 days kinda give them enough time to figure out what went down and whether anyone's at fault? 
Still, it's a good start, right? Maybe we can work with the police department to strengthen this ordinance later on? 
. And why do they need 30 days to figure out what to release? That feels way too long 
. I feel like they should just let people know everything that's going on, especially when it comes to using force. It's not right that some stuff is still gonna be hidden from us 
.
. I think we should be able to see what happened without having to wait that long. And yeah, the redactions thing is pretty shady too. If it's public record, then it should be available to us all 
. I don't trust that they'll only edit out the victim's face and leave everything else in 
.
. Why can't they just make the footage available unedited? That's what taxpayers pay for, right? 
This Detroit proposal sounds like a step in the right direction, but those loopholes are like, super problematic 
. You want to know what happened, ASAP! 
. We need stronger legislation that requires police to release unedited footage, no editing, no redactions 
. That way, we can see the truth and hold our officers accountable 
#TransparencyMatters #AccountabilityNow #PoliceReform
It's like, shouldn't we be pushing for full disclosure from the get-go? The exemptions in this ordinance just seem like a way to keep things under wraps. And yeah, I can see how redactions and discretion over what info is released could lead to selective release of information... just not cool, you know? 
. Families should be able to see what happened ASAP so they can at least get some answers about why their loved one got hurt 
. And yeah, it's weird that there are so many loopholes in the ordinance... like, what even is a joint task force? 
, days after everyone else has stopped talking about it. I think the 30-day delay is super reasonable tho 
. It feels like some people just want to hide stuff from the public and that's not right 
. Maybe we need a more robust system in place to ensure transparency, but this 30-day thing can't be the only solution 
. We need more conversations like this to keep pushing for accountability and transparency 
.
️. I mean, who's gonna make sure they actually follow through on releasing footage when it's convenient? It feels like just another way to avoid accountability 
. The 30-day delay is also super long, especially in cases where someone's been hurt 
. I get that there are some exceptions to consider, but 30 days is still too long for families of victims or those affected by police actions to know what happened 
. It should be unedited footage, full stop 
. We need more transparency, not less. The city council needs to revisit the exemptions and make sure it's truly serving the public interest 
.
. What if something serious happens and you need that footage ASAP? The city council should be all about transparency, but instead they're letting their friends in the police union get in the way.
. 30 days is already a long time, and you can imagine how frustrating it must be for families of victims or even witnesses themselves when they just want to know what happened 
.
.
like Vicky said fam the public needs that info ASAP! and even if they edit out faces or witnesses, its still not enough transparency for me 
lets push for stronger laws so we can trust our police more 
or if the cops just did their job 
anyway it's like 99% of ppl want to see this kind of info so let's make it happen