Activism groups supporting the use of body cameras for the Boston Police Department delivered letters and petitions to the Boston City Council Wednesday in hopes of urging councilors to vote on an existing amendment already within the Council that would implement them.
Organizers from the Boston Police Camera Action Team, the Boston Door Knockers, Community Change Inc., Boston Knapsack Anti-Racism Group, Showing Up for Racial Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts delivered the documents.
Approximately 560 petition signatures and 400 letters were delivered, said Elizabeth Rucker, a spokeswoman from the Boston Door Knockers.
Segun Idowu, a co-organizer for BPCAT, said the goal of the drop off was to highlight community interests and force a vote before the Nov. 3 City Council Elections.
“Many of us, we believe that politicians only care about what you think and what you have to say before you give them what they want, which is a vote and then after that they don’t have to pay attention to what you are saying,” Idowu said.
In August, City Councilor Charles Yancey introduced an ordinance written by BPCAT and ACLUM that would create a policy for body cameras. BPD Commissioner William Evans announced his support of a camera pilot program on Sept. 15, the Daily Free Press reported.
Idowu said the drop off did not get councilors to talk about the ordinance, but he hopes to urge them to discuss the policy at their next meeting or set up opportunities to meet with the group.
“We decided that instead of waiting for a meeting with them we would just go meet with their constituents and see what they had to say about it,” Idowu said. “What we are hoping is that what we did today will encourage them to reach out to us and schedule a meeting so we can talk about what it is that we are looking for so that this council can hold the commissioner accountable.”
City Councilor Tim McCarthy expressed support for the body camera pilot program, but outlined the need for a commission to oversee it.
“I appreciate the efforts of all concerned citizens and clearly this group has worked extremely hard on this issue,” McCarthy wrote in an email. “I do believe that a pilot program should be initiated. But this program should be under the care and observation of a commission. Constitutional rights, for the citizen and the police, need to be protected.”
Rucker said in order to achieve police accountability civilians need to have a say in what is happening in policy and that residents have been overwhelmingly supportive of the policy as a whole.
“[The event] was really successful in the way that we showed community support for the effort and it was exciting to see media there and continuing to be attendant to the story of Black Lives Matter and police accountability,” Rucker said.
Idowu said the group will post its upcoming steps in the coming days and that it is up to the council to decide whether to take a stance on the ordinance at its upcoming meeting.
Several residents agreed that body cameras are an important topic, but varied on how well they feel activism groups are advocating for the issue.
Allison Nakano, 25, of Back Bay, said the groups’ approaching the council may not have been the most productive.
“It’s obviously a significant issue. Everyone is talking about body cameras in America with everything that’s happened recently,” she said. “However, just showing up at the City Council seems a bit hostile when trying to get them to move forward on this issue.”
Izak Wood-Ferren, 39, of Allston, said instead that appearing before the council instead is a good way to get the attention from its members.
“If City Council isn’t doing anything about the issue, then sometimes you have to remind them of how important it is,” he said. “It’s good that those who have a vested interest in the issue are trying to make sure it’s addressed.”
Chris Gerard, 26, of Brighton, agreed that demonstrations like these help the topic of body cameras in Boston gain more attention.
“Body cameras are a major issue right now and if people are trying to sweep it under the rug,” he said, “I’m glad that people are fighting for it and making sure that it gets the attention it deserves.”
Olivia Quintana contributed to the reporting of this article.
