ACLU's Mobile Justice app aims to hold cops accountable
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- With law enforcement body and dash camera video getting harder to view in North Carolina, the ACLU is urging people to download its Mobile Justice app that can be used to record interactions with police officers.
"You have the right to record the police," said ACLU spokesperson Mike Meno.
RELATED: NEW LAW MAKES POLICE CAM FOOTAGE OFF LIMITS TO PUBLIC
The civil rights advocacy groups said it believes the app is important in the wake of recent officer-involved shootings.
"These incidents in Minnesota and Louisiana would not be in the national conversation if it wasn't for citizens taking out their phone and hitting record," Meno said. "In North Carolina it's going to be much, much more difficult for the public to use body camera and dash camera to hold police officers accountable to have transparency."
The Mobile Justice app is free and here's how it works: If something happens, you press record on the main page. Once you click stop, a copy of the video is send to the ACLU.
"We can go in and watch this video," Meno said. "We have people who will review the video"
Staff is monitoring the account on a daily basis and can see where exactly an incident is happening, if the user has location notifications activated on their smartphone.
RELATED: NC ATTORNEY GENERAL COOPER SAYS BODY CAMERA LAW NEEDS FIXING
We're told more than 10,000 people across the state have the app and hundreds of videos have been submitted.
The ACLU has not taken any legal action over incidents that have come in so far.
"We hope that we won't be, but we all know the problems of over-policing in America are very pervasive and not going away," Meno said.
You can also check to see if any incidents are happening around you with the Mobile Justice app.
The ACLU is criticizing Gov. Pat McCrory for signing the Body Cam bill into law.
"This is going to make it harder for law enforcement to gain the community's trust," Meno said. "It's a huge step backward for this ongoing conversation we're having in North Carolina and across the country."
The ACLU is looking into taken legal action against the state. The ACLU was the first to sue after House Bill 2 became law.
