We the People Weighs in on Ferguson
A member of the St. Louis County Police Department points his weapon in the direction of a group of protesters in Ferguson, Mo. Jeff Roberson/AP
The popular petition site is calling for new technology to curb police abuse.
Following the Aug. 9 fatal shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, protests erupted and local law enforcement responded with drastic action, causing many to call out the militarization of the police.
But some citizens took a different route in hopes of making a difference, creating We the People petitions. One posted Aug. 13 requests a Mike Brown Law:
"Create a bill, sign into law, and set aside funds to require all state, county, and local police, to wear a camera.The law shall be made in an effort to not only detour police misconduct (i.e. brutality, profiling, abuse of power), but to ensure that all police are following procedure, and to remove all question, from normally questionable police encounters."
Currently with 44,337 signatures, the petition will require at least 55,663 more signatures by Sept. 12 to get an official response from the White House.
A similar petition created around the same time only has 1,433 signatures and specifically requests that all police officers be required to wear Go-Pro cameras. Other petitions currently on the site call for other actions in Ferguson, including a request to send in federal troops.