2stepz_ahead
New member
Tech apps at their side
Nwokeafor said many of his friends are not only changing their behavior but also using technology when they go out at night or on weekends.
“They feel that is the only way,” he said. “Everyone is camera-ready. Everybody is downloading apps.”
The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups have created apps designed to allow people to quickly and secretly record police while minimizing the risks that their phones will be taken. One of the apps, “Police Tape,” allows users to capture video or audio inconspicuously. The app vanishes from a smartphone’s screen as soon as the recording begins and can be used to send a copy of the recording to the ACLU for backup. Another app, “Stop and Frisk Watch,” notifies other app users that someone is recording police.
But low-tech measures can also be effective.
Alston, who had come to Baltimore from Jersey City, said his parents were so concerned about him driving that they placed his license, registration and insurance card in a clear, plastic sleeve.
“They told me, ‘We want you to have it all together’ so it doesn’t appear I’m reaching for something.”
He used it in January 2015 when a police car pulled up behind him while he was waiting for a friend at an apartment complex in Baltimore.
“My heart is beating fast,” Alston said. “But then something came over me that said: ‘Calm down. You have no reason to be afraid. You are doing nothing wrong. There is nothing illegally going on right now. You are sitting in your car by yourself, you are waiting for your friend to come out so you can take her to the next destination.’ ”
The officer walked to his window, he said, and asked whether Alston lived there and whether there were any illegal substances in the car
“I say ‘No,’ and he says, ‘Is there any weed in the car?’ I said ‘No.’ ”
Alston said he showed the officer his college ID. “He says, ‘I just want to let you know there have been a lot of stabbings around here lately, and I want to make sure you are safe.’ How do we get from you asking me about drugs to there are stabbings and now you are worried about my safety?”
He felt targeted and infuriated. But he and his Morgan State classmates try to avoid confrontations with the police because they know how they can end.
One night, Nwokeafor and Alston replayed the video of McDonald running, then skipping down a Chicago street. Several police cars approach. An officer jumps out of his vehicle, pulls a gun and, several seconds later, begins firing. The graphic video shows McDonald spinning and then falling. The video captures a puff of smoke ricocheting off McDonald. The officer continues to shoot repeatedly into the teen’s prone body as it lies in the street. A total of 16 shots were fired — all the ammunition in the officer’s clip.
Silently, Nwokeafor pressed pause on his phone.
Nwokeafor said many of his friends are not only changing their behavior but also using technology when they go out at night or on weekends.
“They feel that is the only way,” he said. “Everyone is camera-ready. Everybody is downloading apps.”
The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups have created apps designed to allow people to quickly and secretly record police while minimizing the risks that their phones will be taken. One of the apps, “Police Tape,” allows users to capture video or audio inconspicuously. The app vanishes from a smartphone’s screen as soon as the recording begins and can be used to send a copy of the recording to the ACLU for backup. Another app, “Stop and Frisk Watch,” notifies other app users that someone is recording police.
But low-tech measures can also be effective.
Alston, who had come to Baltimore from Jersey City, said his parents were so concerned about him driving that they placed his license, registration and insurance card in a clear, plastic sleeve.
“They told me, ‘We want you to have it all together’ so it doesn’t appear I’m reaching for something.”
He used it in January 2015 when a police car pulled up behind him while he was waiting for a friend at an apartment complex in Baltimore.
“My heart is beating fast,” Alston said. “But then something came over me that said: ‘Calm down. You have no reason to be afraid. You are doing nothing wrong. There is nothing illegally going on right now. You are sitting in your car by yourself, you are waiting for your friend to come out so you can take her to the next destination.’ ”
The officer walked to his window, he said, and asked whether Alston lived there and whether there were any illegal substances in the car
“I say ‘No,’ and he says, ‘Is there any weed in the car?’ I said ‘No.’ ”
Alston said he showed the officer his college ID. “He says, ‘I just want to let you know there have been a lot of stabbings around here lately, and I want to make sure you are safe.’ How do we get from you asking me about drugs to there are stabbings and now you are worried about my safety?”
He felt targeted and infuriated. But he and his Morgan State classmates try to avoid confrontations with the police because they know how they can end.
One night, Nwokeafor and Alston replayed the video of McDonald running, then skipping down a Chicago street. Several police cars approach. An officer jumps out of his vehicle, pulls a gun and, several seconds later, begins firing. The graphic video shows McDonald spinning and then falling. The video captures a puff of smoke ricocheting off McDonald. The officer continues to shoot repeatedly into the teen’s prone body as it lies in the street. A total of 16 shots were fired — all the ammunition in the officer’s clip.
Silently, Nwokeafor pressed pause on his phone.
