Responding to the shooting of an unarmed black teenager in suburban St. Louis, the Atlanta City Council on Monday unanimously passed a resolution calling for local police departments to install cameras in their vehicles.
There was no such camera in the squad car of the Ferguson, Missouri officer who shot 18-year-old Michael Brown nine days ago. Eyewitness accounts have varied.
“Across the country stories have been reported about alleged police misconduct,” said Atlanta City Councilwoman Natalyn Archibong, who sponsored the resolution. “Dashboard cam videos often play an important role in documenting interactions between law enforcement and citizens.”
It’s not clear how many metro Atlanta agencies utilize dashboard cams, which have become standard issue across most of the country. As of 2007, 61 percent of local police departments were using video cameras in patrol cars, up from 55% in 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The council resolution asks U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to “use his considerable influence to impress upon local police agencies the need for the installation of cameras in their vehicles.”
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