Civilian Complaint Review Boards See Uptick in Recordings of Police

Tensions between police and protesters have spiked in Baltimore. But a lack of rioting doesn't mean a lack of tension — particularly in our new era, when residents record many encounters with police on their cell phones. 

An analysis of the Civilian Complaint Review Board investigations over the past six months showed that 42 complaints involved recordings of police officers. And 27 of those complaints were raised against police for reacting badly to being recorded.  

WNYC's partners at News 4 New York are taking a closer look at the issue. Investigative reporter Pei Sze ChengIt noted that it's legal to record police officers as long as bystanders don't interfere with police work. But the question is: what's interference?

"In a lot of these cases, there's a difference between what a civilian might consider interference with work and what a police officer would consider that and they draw the line," Cheng said.  

The NYPD is one of many police departments across the country that is considering body cameras. Cheng said there is some evidence that they protect police officers and civilians.

For example, they've worked well in Bradford, Conn., she said. "They said once they got everyone outfitted with cameras, the misconduct claims and allegations fell," Cheng said.