Legislature should pass law mandating police wear body cameras

Equipping Madison police officers with body-worn cameras just got easier and more affordable. Last Sunday's Wisconsin State Journal editorial "Cop cameras just got easier for Madison" is right that money for body cameras is available. But having resources available and having a law requiring body cameras are two different things. When people's lives can be at risk during police encounters, body cameras should not be optional. There should be a clear statewide requirement for law enforcement to use them, with appropriate rules for privacy, activation and accountability. Rep. Shelia Stubbs, D-Madison, has the opportunity to demand stronger statewide legislation requiring body cameras rather than leaving departments with a choice. My question is simple: If body cameras are important enough to discuss after a person is killed during a police encounter, why shouldn't lawmakers make their use mandatory before the next person is killed? Funding can help a department buy the cameras. A law can establish the requirement. We should not have to wait for another death to ask why there was no body-camera footage. Public safety should not depend on whether a department chooses to participate. Derrick McCann, Madison Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!