For our April meetup, we invited APD Commander Ely Reyes, activist Debbie Russell, and community organizer Andrew Bucknall to lead a discussion on the push for law enforcement officers to wear body cameras, examining the implications for civil liberties, privacy, public safety, and police accountability.

Video Now Available

  • [12:05] Start
  • [16:24] Andrew Bucknall
  • [26:21] Cdr. Ely Reyes
  • [41:05] Debbie Russell
  • [58:14] Q&A / Discussion
  • [01:47:50] Marc Powell (Poem)

Speakers:

Commander Ely Reyes is currently the Technology/Fleet Commander with the Austin Police Department. He has over 20 years of Law Enforcement Experience and has served in a variety of assignments including Patrol, Highway Enforcement, Investigations, Training, Internal Affairs and Violent Crimes.

Debbie Russell is a local community activist, having engaged in many coalition-building efforts on a local and regional level with a broad range of communities. She has 28 years of experience as an administrator for small to medium non-profits and small, local profit businesses. Debbie volunteers on behalf of the ACLU-TX, focusing on police accountability and open government.

Andrew Bucknall is a native Austinite and has a bachelor’s degree from Huston-Tillotson University in Political Science and a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership and Ethics from St. Edwards University. Andrew and the Huston-Tillotson Young Democrats supported the ACLU and NAACP in working with APD Chief Stan Knee to adopt one of the most comprehensive consent search policies in the U.S. Andrew’s leadership also recently helped craft an Austin Neighborhoods Council Resolution Supporting Body Cameras for all active duty police officers.

Time: Monday, April 20th, 7pm-9pm
Location: Capital Factory, 701 Brazos Street, Suite 1601, Austin, TX

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