Much of the nation’s attention has been turned on the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Mo., this week as protesters continue to lash out at the circumstances surrounding the death of a local teen.
One Democrat wants to prevent the public from having “any records … pertaining to police shootings.”
The protests began after a Ferguson police officer shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown. On Friday, the department finally named the officer involved released images of Brown’s involvement in a strong-arm robbery.
But it will be a long time before we know all there is to know about those who have harassed, assaulted and arrested protesters in Ferguson.
>>> Ferguson Police: Video Shows Michael Brown Strong-Arming Store Clerk
The public wouldn’t find out about any of this—which officer shot the young man and who ordered attack on protesters—if state Rep. Jeff Roorda has his way.
The Missouri Democrat introduced a bill last year to amend the state’s Sunshine Law to prevent the public from obtaining “any records and documents pertaining to police shootings … if they contain the name of any officer who did the shooting.”
The only time the name of an officer would be disclosed, under Roorda’s proposal, would be if the officer ended up being charged with a crime as a result of the shooting.
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In fact, the bill would prevent the public from knowing about police officers involved in any incident in which an individual is shot by a law enforcement officer, regardless of whether the officer was on duty.
Roorda, the business manager of the St. Louis Police Officers’ Association when he’s not working as a state lawmaker, recently told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he, and the St. Louis Police Officers’ Association, oppose the use of cameras in patrol cars to monitor police activities.
The bill hasn’t received so much as a hearing or a vote in the Missouri House.