Ride the Lightning

ACLU App Records Police Conduct

May 5, 2015

The LA Times reported on April 30th that the American Civil Liberties Union of California has created a free smartphone app that allows users to send videos of questionable police activity directly to the ACLU – protecting the videos from confiscation or tampering by the police. Last month, a deputy U.S. Marshal demonstrated why precautions are needed when he took the cellphone of a woman who was recording him and smashed it on the ground.

The app is called "Mobile Justice CA." Users need to open the app before filming – and as soon as the recording stops, it automatically sends a copy to the ACLU’s server and keeps the video on the phone. A text report will then pop up, allowing users to explain in writing what they saw but allowing them to remain anonymous if desired. ACLU officials said their legal team would screen the reports and review any videos they believed might show problematic activity.

The video will belong to the person who filmed it but the app’s user terms allow the ACLU to distribute the footage for nonprofit use.

The early months of 2015 have clearly demonstrated the need for such an app – let's hope it serves to moderate the conduct of law enforcement officers who all too often have manifested the use of excessive force and, sometimes, downright brutality and indifference to human life.

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