Pittsburgh’s City Council has approved a package of bills designed to improve police accountability after a teenager’s bloody confrontation with undercover officers. The bills would require video cameras in police cars and set new rules for misconduct investigations, says the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Three police officers working undercover in an unmarked car said Jordan Miles failed to stop when ordered to do so and resisted arrest. Miles said the officers beat him without provocation. Charges against Miles were dismissed. The officers remain on paid leave, pending city and federal investigations of the Jan. 12 incident. Under one of the new bills, all newly purchased marked police vehicles must be equipped with video and audio recording equipment, and the equipment would have to be installed on the existing fleet within five years. The bill also gives police officials 90 days to develop a policy for use and storage of video and audio evidence captured by the devices. The police department already has installed recording devices in some cars.