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ACLU's 'Mobile Justice App' Launches In Minn.; Aims To Hold Police Accountable

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A new app promises to better hold police officers accountable.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Minnesota released the "Mobile Justice App" on Friday, which officials said will empower individuals to hold Minnesota's law enforcement agencies accountable for their actions.

Similar apps have been released across the country, from New York to California, and many more were released on Nov.13, both in Minnesota and other states.

Both presidents of the Minneapolis and St. Paul police federations said their officers are not afraid of being recorded, but they are concerned about safety.

Minnesota's ACLU legal director Teresa Nelson said the app helps make sure the power of video is in every person's hands.

"Video has more weight than even an ordinary citizen's account of a situation," Nelson said.
Lt. Bob Kroll from the Minneapolis police federation said video often doesn't tell the whole story.

"They capture snapshots and that's what seems to get aired," Kroll said.

Kroll said he expects officers' behavior to be scrutinized, but they take issue with the part of the app called the "witness feature," which allows users to send each other the location of an incident involving police to attract more possible witnesses.

"You're going to capture victims, children, victims of domestic violence," Kroll said.

Kroll also said in addition to invading privacy, the app could potentially compromise existing crime scenes by drawing in more people.

Jana Kooren of Minnesota's ACLU strongly disagrees.

"We do protect privacy because you have to enable that function, so this is only for people who want to tell others something is going on," Kooren said.

ACLU reports some 250,000 people across the U.S. have already downloaded similar apps to record incidents involving police.

More police departments across the country are using their own body cameras.

Minneapolis and St. Paul police officers will use them by 2017, but the ACLU says that is not sufficient.

"With police body cameras right now in state of Minnesota, police have discretion in what to record and what not to record," Nelson said.

The Twin Cities police federations insist there is already plenty of oversight within law enforcement.

"You don't know what led up to any use of force," Kroll said, "It always looks ugly no matter how you use it. The question is, is it justifiable?" Kroll said.

The ACLU said it has not yet filed any lawsuits against law enforcement based on these videos.

The videos are only available for certain ACLU staffers to see and are deleted after one year if they are not further investigated.

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