On Tuesday, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) signed a bill intended to develop and codify body camera policies for police departments across the state.
The new law will set up a statewide commission charged with regulating how police officers in Maryland use body cameras. It will also be responsible for recommending how to fully fund the nascent body camera programs by the end of the year.
The governor signed 350 bills that day during a public session. The bills covered all aspects of state affairs, from raising state speed limits and altering tax codes to updating the state’s public records laws.
However, the bill that received the most attention by far was the body camera law. Though the bill was introduced before the controversial death of Freddie Gray and the subsequent protests, the riots shoved Baltimore into the national spotlight and caused many residents and officials in the city to seriously scrutinize the police department’s tactics.
As a result, the body camera bill (and other proposals considered but dumped by state lawmakers before the protests) received greater attention and support.
On April 19th, a 25 year-old African American man Freddie Gray died after sustaining spinal cord injuries under police custody. His death triggered a series of outcries from local residents and garnered attention throughout the country. Many in Baltimore and elsewhere believe that Gray’s death is indicative of a larger policy of discrimination against African Americans and other people of color (POC). The city experienced intense rioting in the following weeks, prompting local and state lawmakers to reform police tactics.
Body cameras have been proposed for police officers in many departments across the country. Proponents claim that body cameras will help ameliorate the relationship between the public and the police by recording direct footage of police conduct.
“Now, instead of it being a simply local, marginal concern…it’s a serious national issue that demands thorough airing and adequate reform,” said Billy Murphy, the attorney representing the Gray family.
“Now Baltimore and the state of Maryland are under a national microscope, where there is literally an outcry for relief from the serious problem of police brutality,” he continued. “Body cameras is an essential part of solving that problem.”
Compelling law enforcement to have cameras record them while on-duty is nothing new. In car camera systems are already standard in most police vehicles. Close to 72% of state police and high patrol vehicles, for example, come with an installed video system.