This New Law About Police Body-Cam Footage Is Drawing Major Outrage

Following a week of tragedies across the nation that included two men killed by police and five officers who died in a sniper attack, state governments have been struggling to address the latent tension between citizens and law enforcement.

North Carolina's state legislature responded to the assassination of the five police officers in Dallas by introducing legislation that would remove police officers' body-camera recordings from public record, as well as their dashboard cameras and any public surveillance. Only those whose image or voice is in the video will be able to request the file — however, the police chief or sheriff must agree to the request as well. What's more, if you are granted access to the recording, it is for viewing only. To make a copy or photograph it, a judge would have to release it.

Governor Pat McCrory signed House Bill 972 into law "to protect those who protect us," according to local news outlet WTVD Raleigh. Despite his intentions, it seems that the law actually obfuscates any possible dialogue between civilians and law enforcement. The ACLU opposes the legislation's supposed benefits. In a statement, Susanna Birdsong, the policy counsel for the ACLU in North Carolina, said:

"Giving law enforcement such broad authority to keep video footage secret — even from individuals who are filmed — will damage law enforcement's ability to build trust with the public and destroy any potential this technology had to make officers more accountable to the communities they serve. People who are filmed by police body cameras should not have to spend time and money to go to court in order to obtain access to that footage."

The law has also received widespread criticism on Twitter:

Meanwhile, North Carolina, the governor just signed a law restricting body cam footage from public record. We are regressing.

— vanessa huxtable (@_Elle_Spencer_) July 12, 2016

North Carolina governor has signed a pro-cop bill to restrict body cam footage from released to the public. How is this still a democracy?

— red_ant_hill (@redant_hill) July 12, 2016

North Carolina just signed a bill to let police keep body cam videos private so basically don't go there.

— sheen (@TylerSheen) July 12, 2016

While the new law does seem to contradict the sheer meaning of "transparency," it likely won't stop individuals from recording and sharing their own videos of law enforcement, which have proven to be effective in bringing awareness to issues of police brutality.