WASHINGTON– Today, Damon Hewitt, President and Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, issued the following statement in response to the Department of the Interior’s new policy requiring thousands of law enforcement officers to wear body cameras:
“The Department of the Interior’s move to require body-worn cameras and to restrict the use of no-knock warrants is an important first step toward increasing accountability and transparency among its law enforcement officers. The Department heard the call for change that echoed across the nation during the summer of 2020 and, through this policy, has begun working to earn our trust. For too long, there has been no system in place to ensure officers serving in the Department are not endangering those they are duty-bound to protect. By requiring its officers to wear body-worn cameras, releasing recordings from critical incidents, and limiting the use of no-knock warrants that have proven so dangerous for many people of color, the Department has created a pathway to accountability.
While there is nothing we can do to bring back the thousands of individuals who are hurt and killed by police officers, there are actionable steps we can and should take to ensure that no more lives are lost or destroyed at the hands of the police. We support the Department of the Interior’s announcement and encourage all government agencies to prioritize decreasing violence and misconduct through implementing similar progressive policies.”
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About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to mobilize the nation’s leading lawyers as agents for change in the Civil Rights Movement. Today, the Lawyers’ Committee uses legal advocacy to achieve racial justice, fighting inside and outside the courts to ensure that Black people and other people of color have the voice, opportunity, and power to make the promises of our democracy real. For more information, please visit https://lawyerscommittee.org
