We are calling on all of our supporters to engage in community activism by contacting your elected officials to demand that body camera footage of the police shooting of Da'Shontay King be released immediately to his family and the public. The attached video contains more details about the King case and the rationale for releasing this footage.
There is also discussion at the City and County level about enacting legislation that would require the timely release of body camera footage in incidents where police may have engaged in excessive use of force or other questionable tactics. Widespread community support for such legislation (which exists in many other communities across the country) will let elected representatives know that this is a priority!
As you craft your communication on these issues, here are some possible talking points you may wish to include:
· Whenever a life is taken by law enforcement, it requires a prompt and diligent investigation by an outside agency, as well as a release of all public record of the event to the general public. We believe that body camera, dash camera and surveillance camera footage is public record and is an essential component of providing an objective account of what happened.
· When the city approved $2 million in the 2022 budget for the Racine Police Department to buy, among other things, high-tech body camera equipment, the Racine Police Department summary of the purchase stated: “Open records requests for body camera footage has [sic] drastically increased over the last several years. Using our current technology, this long and cumbersome process requires additional employee hours resulting in paid overtime costs. This technology would significantly reduce the time in which we could review and fulfill those requests. Our overarching goal is accountability and transparency assisted by technology.” The purchase was made. We expect that accountability and transparency now.
· In unveiling the new Violent Crime Initiative late last month, District Attorney Patricia Hanson committed her office to being completely transparent, both with victim’s families and the public. We hold her to that commitment now.
· Many other states and communities have already enacted laws requiring the timely release of body camera footage in “critical incident” cases where the public has reason to question police conduct. (For more details, see this thorough overview of current BWC (body worn camera) legislation and court opinions published by the American Bar Association.
Here are the places to send your letters. (We would appreciate if you would copy us or forward copies of your letters to us at: racinewomenforracialjustice@gmail.com )
Patricia Hanson
Racine County District Attorney
730 Wisconsin Ave
Racine WI 53403
Jonathan Delagrave
Racine County Executive
730 Wisconsin Ave
Racine WI 53403
Cory Mason
Racine Mayor
730 Washington Ave
Racine WI 53403
You can locate the address of your Racine County supervisor here:
You can locate the address of your Racine City Alderperson here:
Thank you for joining us in this most important avenue of pursuing racial justice in our community.
Stay tuned to this page for updates and future actions.
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