State Representative John Lesch from Saint Paul is warning fellow lawmakers there’s a looming problem with police use of body cameras: they’re recording disproportionately more information about people of color than on white Minnesotans. Lesch says, “Police are gonna say, we don’t pick, we respond to calls. What do you want us to do, shut off our camera when we see a different race?”
Lesch says he doesn’t have the answer but the courts are signaling the problem must be dealt with. Lesch’s comments came during a Tuesday State Capitol hearing on civil rights and data privacy issues surrounding use of body cameras and automated license plate readers.