Group Aims to Place Bodycams on Boston Police Officers By 2016

Photo via Boston Police Camera Action Team

A Boston-based group that formed in August in response to the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri formally announced its organization this week and that it aims to place bodycams on Boston police officers within two years.

The Boston Police Camera Action Team on Thursday said that its mission as a group is “to further accountability and safety in the city of Boston through the mandatory use of police bodycams.”

The group said that it is working with city residents and organizations to help research, draft and present policy to the Boston City Council, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh and the Boston Police Department.

“I was tired of having the same conversations about the same tragedies and coming up with the same solutions,” said Segun Idowu, a co-organizer of the group. “I decided it was time to not just do something but something that mattered.”

Added co-organizer Shekia Scott, “We had to act now. I refuse to let Boston become the next Ferguson.”

The move follows the release of an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) report titled “Black, Brown and Targeted,” which reportedly details racial disparities in police-civilian interactions. BPCAT said the report also highlights the need for bodycams on the city’s police officers.

Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, meanwhile, defended the department after the release of the report, saying “officers focused on high-crime areas and individuals with gang affiliations and criminal records,” according to the Boston Globe.

For more information on the group, visit bpcat.org or facebook.com/bpcatorg.