Police Body Cameras: Implementation with Caution, Forethought, and Policy
Dru S. Letourneau *
On August 9, 2014, Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, on a Ferguson, Missouri street.[1] The incident immediately ignited protests in the Ferguson area.[2] Several of these demonstrations included rioting, looting, and violence.[3] In response, officials used force, military-style tactics, and military-grade weapons.[4] In November 2014, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon called the National Guard to attempt to restore order and keep the peace.[5]
* J.D. Candidate 2016, University of Richmond School of Law. B.A., 2013, University of Virginia. I am grateful to have this opportunity to publish and would like to thank the entire University of Richmond Law Review staff and editors for their work to make it possible. A special thank you to my grandfather, the Honorable Maurice L. Ealy, Magistrate and Clerk of Court for the City of Virginia Beach, and my father, Steven P. Letourneau, Esq., for establishing and cultivating my interest in the legal world. Finally, I would like to thank my grandmother, Elizabeth J. Ealy, and my mother, Cynthia E. Letourneau, for their unconditional and unwavering support, guidance, and inspiration.
[1]. Ralph Ellis, Jason Hanna & Shimon Prokupecz, Missouri Governor Imposes Curfew in Ferguson, Declares Emergency, CNN (Aug. 16, 2014, 7:09 PM), http://www.cnn.com/ 2014/08/16/us/missouri-teen-shooting/.
[5]. Jack Healy et al., Ferguson, Still Tense, Grows Calmer, N.Y. Times (Nov. 26, 2014), http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/27/us/michael-brown-darren-wilson-ferguson-prot ests.html?_r=0.