ACLU introduces Arizona app to submit police encounter videos
Nov 16, 2015, 6:00 AM | Updated: 9:28 am
(AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)
PHOENIX –The American Civil Liberties Union has introduced a mobile app that will allow Arizonans to submit videos of police encounters, similar to the idea of officer-worn body cameras.
The app is called Mobile Justice AZ.
“It is an app that allows people to record police interactions that they see, and have those videos of potentially abusive police activity uploaded to the ACLU for review,” ACLU of Arizona spokesman Steve Kilar said.
Despite the app’s function, Kilar said the ACLU is not encouraging anyone to shoot a video while they’re dealing directly with a police officer who has stopped them.
“We intended this app to be used by bystanders who are watching other people’s interactions with police,” he said. “It can be dangerous to pull out your phone during a police interaction if you are actually the person who has been stopped.”
The app is available for use on Android and iOS phones and can be downloaded for free through the Apple App store or Google Play. Kilar said videos sent to the ACLU are then preserved even if a phone is lost, seized or destroyed.
“We’re hoping that, by allowing the ACLU to review these videos, it will provide an extra way for complaints to be made to police departments about abusive activity,” Kilar said.