Update: Since the publication of this article, Facebook removed and blocked Cell 411 from allowing users to post live video to their own walls; the company is now trying to find a work around the Facebook block and still allow users to present live video streams to Facebook friends.

Startup Cell 411 Inc. (getcell411.com) has created a mobile app that makes it virtually impossible for governments, police and criminals to erase video which could serve as evidence of a crime or abuse.  The app, called Cell 411, has been around for a number of months but the newly-released version has features that are unseen in any other mobile apps used by activists, aiming to fight censorship and also criminal activity.

One recent glaring example of police censoring and blocking an abuse victim from streaming live video of police violence is the recent police shooting and death of Korryn Gaines, which was visited by a SWAT team over an unpaid traffic fine. During the standoff, the police ordered that Facebook turn off Gaines’ Facebook and Instagram accounts in an effort to prevent her from streaming live video to her friends. The police shot and killed Gaines and shot her young child who was hospitalized. Without access to social media, the victim had no opportunity to record and stream what transpired in her apartment.

Cell 411 is an emergency management platform and mobile app, which allows users to alert trusted contacts in case of an emergency. Whether it is a medical emergency, a car break-down, police interaction or government abuse, the app can alert trusted contacts in real time with the type and exact location of the emergency, allowing users to avoid interaction with police if possible and only involve individuals they trust. The app has been gaining traction in crime-ridden countries like South Africa and has been used to build neighborhood watch groups and also activist groups throughout the world.

Furthermore, Cell 411 allows users to stream live video and audio to potentially thousands or tens of thousands of users allowing them to download the video streamed by a friend to a local device.  The video can be distributed to large numbers of users in real time, making it impossible to be completely erased from any servers.  To add to this impressive list of features, the latest release will allow users to stream live video to their own Facebook wall, their own YouTube Live channel, and the Cell 411 official TV channels on Facebook and YouTube.  These features increase the distribution footprint for video streams, making it even more difficult for evidence to be removed or erased. The video is also saved on the local device in case a forensic copy needs to be recovered at a later time.

“Shortly after the shooting of Philando Castile, police officers confiscated his fiancee’s smart phone and attempted to erase the footage by accessing her Facebook account and removing the Facebook Live video she recorded,” said Virgil Vaduva, founder of Cell 411, “not to mention the recent example of Korryn Gaines who had her Facebook and Instagram accounts suspended by police shortly before police shot and killed her and shot her five year old son,” said Vaduva.

“While it is illegal to do so, there have been numerous cases of both criminals and government employees attempting to destroy recorded video evidence from devices or social media accounts or prevent users from recording and streaming video of alleged abuse. Our platform allows users to create a wide and decentralized network for distribution of video in real time to a large number of trusted users, making it very difficult if not impossible to destroy,” said Vaduva.

The Cell 411 app allows users to stream video to connected Cell 411 users, save it to the local device if the user’s device lacks an Internet connection, stream it to Facebook, YouTube and other distribution platforms the users choose to engage. The video cannot be erased from the platform once it is streamed and it can be downloaded by any of the trusted contacts chosen by the user.

While Cell 411 has received wide criticism from law enforcement, with Police One claiming that it endangers the lives of police officers, the app has also become extremely popular throughout the world and has been selected by the Victoria & Albert Museum to be featured in the Future of Design Exhibit in London in 2017. The exhibit will feature objects, ideas and designs which are likely to influence the future of mankind in a positive way.

The company denies that the app is aimed solely to law enforcement and points out how it is being widely used by neighborhood watch groups and families to keep each other safe in emergencies.

“We are simply building a platform to make the world a little bit better and safer, and encourage users to interact with each other on a voluntary basis. Good ideas don’t require force in order to be adopted, and users are voluntarily choosing our app because they want a non-violent way to solve conflict and keep each other safe,” said Vaduva.

The company has ambitious plans for growth and is planning to build a world-wide drone fleet and adding features to allow users to dispatch monitoring drones to locations where violence is likely to take place or medical response is necessary.

Users can download Cell 411 from http://getcell411.com

Protesters demand police accountability during a march on Chicago Police headquarters on Sept. 16, 1999.

(In March 1999, The Chicago Reporter published a story about the record-number of police shootings of civilians in 1998. Chicago Police officers shot 71 people that year; 15 died.  In comparison, police shot 50 people in 2014; 18 died, according to the Independent Police Review Authority. We are republishing this story because the number of officer-involved shootings in 1998 and the Chicago Police Department’s response resonate today in the wake of new concerns about police violence against civilians. — Susan Smith Richardson, editor and publisher)

Chicago police officers shot 71 people in 1998, the highest annual total in the decade, according to data from the Office of Professional Standards, the civilian arm of the Chicago Police Department that investigates police misconduct allegations. Fifteen of those people died from their wounds.

Between 1990 and 1998, police recorded 505 shootings, including 139 deaths, OPS records show. The largest number of fatalities — 21 — occurred in 1994.

Of the 139 fatalities, 115 occurred when police shot other people, including 82 black victims, 16 Latinos, 12 whites and two Asians. Police died from self-inflicted wounds in 24 cases — 16 involving suicide by white male officers.

“The greatest majority of shootings occur when an officer is put in a defensive position, defending himself or another individual,” said Patrick Camden, deputy director of news affairs for the police department. “The question should be, ‘Why has the number of citizens who decide to pull guns gone up?’”

But some shootings raise doubts, particularly about relations between blacks and police. The Feb. 4 shooting of 22-year-old Amadou Diallo, a West African immigrant, received national attention. New York City police shot at the man 41 times; no weapon was found at the scene.

“Police are out of control in the African- American communities,” said Standish E. Willis, a Chicago civil rights lawyer who represents four families involved in fatal police shootings. He recommends that an independent, community-based board review police misconduct, discipline officers and make recommendations.

“The community is inflamed by this issue,” said Nehemiah Russell, an activist against police brutality and principal of Cabrini-Green Middle College, a Near North Side alternative school at 880 N. Hudson Ave. “If these matters are not addressed in our communities, it could lead to a race riot.”

Last month, U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-Chicago) asked President Bill Clinton to appoint a federal task force to investigate incidents of police brutality and misconduct. “Progress has come like an old man’s teeth — few and far between,” Davis said.

In April alone, six Chicagoans were killed by police, including four blacks in one week, according to reporters from the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office:

• April 1: Gregory Beck, 17, was shot in the 5100 block of North Long Street after an officer said he fired at him.
• April 2: Ernest Hopkins, 27, was shot during a failed drugs-for-weapons police sting operation in a McDonald’s parking lot 1t 7832 S. Western Ave.
• April 3: Tyrus Ellis, 33, died after being shot by police during a car chase in which he allegedly tried to run over an officers.
• April 5: Michael Russell Hamilton, 21, was killed by police at 500 W. Oak St. Police said he refused to lay down his weapon.

Police could not provide information on the status of OPS investigations into these cases.

Illinois law permits officers to use deadly force in self-defense or to protect lives. In 1996, 15 of the 17 shooting deaths were ruled justifiable, according to the most recent data available from the FBI, which tracks crime nationwide. Ten of the 15 involved black victims, and 13 involved white police officers.

The circumstances surrounding some shootings, however, remain contentious — and fraught with political overtones. Police say 18-year-old Chad Edwards was shot by Officer Raymond Wilkes on Feb. 17, 1998, and died Feb. 21. Police say they were responding to a call of a possible burglary when Edwards, an African- American living at 6110 S. Washtenaw Ave., burst out of a closet in a neighbor’s home holding a pair of pliers. He was shot in the head.

While he was hospitalized in critical condition, police charged him with criminal trespassing and aggravated assault, court records show. OPS ruled the shooting justifiable.

But according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by his mother, Tanya Edwards, her son and his girlfriend were visiting the neighbor’s house with permission when police entered unannounced. Edwards was shot when he went to the doorway to investigate the noise — unarmed and wearing no pants.

Last month, the family of Brennan King, a 21-year-old father of three who was shot by police on Nov. 27, filed a $5 million civil rights lawsuit against the city. King, a Cabrini-Green resident, had a record including aggravated assault against a police officer, mob action and drug possession, court records show.

Officer Peter Kelly shot King after chasing him into a stairwell of a Cabrini high-rise at 660 W. Division St. King “turned around with a box cutter and cut Officer Kelly multiple times,” according to the police account provided to the medical examiner.

Investigators found six used shell cartridges from Kelly’s gun near the stairwell. Willis, representing King’s family, said the box cutter explanation was fabricated and that a witness heard King begging for his life.

OPS is still investigating the case; Kelly remains on duty, Camden said.

“Brennan is really missed. He was my namesake,” said his aunt, Brenda King. “He was changing a lot. He had lost his mother, brother and was taking care of two cousins.”

By Danielle Gordon for The Chicago Reporter

After years of not giving a damn and letting the public do its job for it, the FBI is apparently ready to get serious about collecting stats on “police-involved shootings.” In a statement released along with the FBI’s 2014 Crime Report (tl;dr: most crime down again), FBI director James Comey says the agency will be doing… something… to ensure more comprehensive reporting of citizens killed by police.

[T]o address the ongoing debate about the appropriate use of force by law enforcement, we plan to collect more data about shootings (fatal and nonfatal) between law enforcement and civilians, and to increase reporting overall. Currently, the UCR program collects the number of justifiable homicides reported by police as well as information about the felonious killing and assault of law enforcement officers. These data are available in Crime in the United States and Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted. As helpful as this information is, however, we need more law enforcement agencies to submit their justifiable homicide data so that we can better understand what is happening across the country. Once we receive this data, we will add a special publication that focuses on law enforcement’s use of force in shooting incidents that will outline facts about what happened, who was involved, the nature of injuries or deaths, and the circumstances behind these incidents. We hope this information will become part of a balanced dialogue in communities and in the media—a dialogue that will help to dispel misperceptions, foster accountability, and promote transparency in how law enforcement personnel relate to the communities they serve.

There’s a lot not to like about this statement.

First off, the FBI is only now getting around to “addressing the debate,” after doing the bare minimum for the past several years. Currently, the data is “collected” via voluntary reports from law enforcement agencies and is limited to justifiable homicides, and then only those where someone was shot during the commission of a felony. This is why the FBI’s yearly totals are, at best, half of what’s tallied by private efforts.

Comey’s statement basically says nothing’s going to change. The collection will still be limited to “justifiable” homicides and will still be voluntary. Comey says he wants more law enforcement agencies to submit data, but there’s no directive being issued to force the issue.

If anything’s going to mobilize a more complete collection of shooting data, it will likely be new legislation. But the only recent effort towards a more comprehensive database of police-involved killings is languishing in Washington, having gone no further than being assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

If any expanded reporting does result from Comey’s announcement, it will still be heavily-skewed in favor of law enforcement agencies and their use of force. Because it will only contain information on homicides deemed to be justified, the report will not provide any further information on unjustified uses of deadly force. This will do nothing to further the conversation on law enforcement use of force, much less increase the level of trust in the communities they serve.

Comey is correct that continuing to serve up incomplete statistics won’t result in positive change. But his statement contains nothing that indicates substantive changes in reporting is on the way. The only difference here is that the FBI is finally acknowledging the public’s growing disgruntlement with the nation’s law enforcement agencies. But Comey’s light touch — designed not to offend his agency’s brothers-in-arms — suggests the only thing he’s willing to throw at the problem is a few extra words.

During the first week of September, police killed more civilians than the total number of police officers killed so far this year. By the end of the month, 99 people were killed, according to theKilled By Police database. At least 77 of them were shot and killed.

The Guardian reports that 873 people have been killed by police in 2015, and the number is growing.

These numbers present a counter-narrative to the “War on Cops” messaging that conservative politicians and commentators have ramped up in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. As Radley Balko wrote in a Washington Post column, this rhetoric is damaging and hinders real public discussion about the use of police force. In the midst of the media hype over attacks on police earlier this month, an unidentified Massachusetts officer was fired for fabricating a storyabout shots being fired at his vehicle, causing an hours-long manhunt for his attacker.

Here are some of the most shocking police encounters in September:

James Blake, New York, NY: When former tennis star James Blake was mistaken for a suspect in an identity-theft ring by an NYPD officer with a history of using excessive force, the unidentified officer charged at him, picked him up and slammed him to the ground. Four other cops helped detain and handcuff Blake, who showed I.D. and cooperated immediately. But Blake was detained for 10-15 minutes before police realized their mistake. The NYPD told ThinkProgress that “once Blake was properly identified and found to have no connection to the investigation, he was released from police custody immediately.” Blake received swift apologies from Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner William Bratton after the wrongful arrest, but Patrick Lynch, head of the New York City police union, called criticism of the officers “un-American” and irresponsible.

Blake told the New York Daily News that at first he didn’t want to publicly discuss the incident, but felt he had an obligation to bring to light other instances of excessive police force. An investigation of the alleged use of force has been directed to the Internal Affairs Bureau.

Jeremy McDole, Wilmington, Delaware: While responding to a call about McDole shooting himself, several Delaware police officers wound up fatally shooting the wheelchair-bound man.Wilmington Police said that he was “armed with a handgun.” But in a bystander video that depicts McDole adjusting himself in his chair, he does not appear to have a weapon in his hands. Relatives of the deceased contend that he was sitting with his hands in his lap, and also dispute that he was suicidal. His death is under investigation by officials from the Delaware Department of Justice’s Office of Civil Rights and Public Trust.

The incident occurred close to where 25-year-old Freddie Gray died of a spinal injury while in police custody.

Unidentified, Stockton, CA: 16-year-old black teenager was tackled by multiple officers after allegedly jaywalking in a bus-only lane early one morning. A video of the arrest shows an unnamed officer pressing a baton against him, as the boy screams “get off me.” The officer hits the boy twice with the baton and tells him to get on the ground. Seconds later, four more officers tackle the child to the ground and handcuff him. An investigation was launched after the attack and the boy’s family filed an official complaint. The police department maintains that the officers’ actions werejustified.

Dominic Fuller, Auburndale, FL: Sheriff deputy shot and killed a man armed with a stapler. Deputies were called to investigate suspicious activities and found Fuller sitting in a stolen car outside of a house. Fuller ran as the deputies approached him, which lead to a chaotic chase through the neighborhood. A witness reported hearing Fuller say he had a gun, and other witnesses reported him saying he was armed. According to the Sheriff’s office, he was refusing command and standing in a doorway with his right arm behind his back. When Fuller lifted his hand, the deputy saw a black and chrome object. Deputy Gabriel Reveron fired five times at Fuller. It was later confirmed that he was holding a stapler.

By Jess Colarossi for http://thinkprogress.org/