YouTuber exploits police bodycam footage of young women getting DWIs, NJ police say
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MONTVILLE, New Jersey (WABC) — Outrage has ensued over police bodycam videos posted to YouTube showing young women in New Jersey being arrested.
While police body worn camera footage from incidents similar to these are publicly released with the intent of encouraging police accountability, by way of the Open Records Act (or OPRA), one YouTuber has been posting them online and making a profit.
Police in Montville noticed one of their bodycam stops on the YouTube channel and heard from other police agencies that the person operating the website had only requested DWI stops involving young women, some being underage.
“So, we received one but speaking with the other chiefs, numerous other chiefs have received similar requests,” said Montville Chief of Police Andrew Caggiano.
According to reports, one woman asked the YouTuber to take down the video of her stop but was told she would have to pay to get it removed.
Legislators are now looking to protect young people caught in this embarrassing situation, especially women who seem to be exploited because in many videos they are under dressed.
“This legislation, while it recognizes the importance of OPRA, would help to curtail this kind of abuse,” said Senate Republican Leader Anthony M. Bucco. “You’d have to get a person’s consent before posting their image on the internet.”
The State Senator says this is not an effort to stop the media from getting access but is needed to protect people in the modern age of technology where videos can be requested and used just to get exposure.
The owner of YouTube channel told Eyewitness News that he does this for educational purposes and called the proposed legislation a “blatantly unconstitutional infringement” on the right of the press.
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