ANJEL Tech™ Increases Justice & Accountability for the Black Community
By: James A. Samuel
Tags: Racial Justice, BlackLivesMatter, Police Brutality, Social Justice, George Floyd

In the wake of the recent and persistent news of body cam footage being withheld from the public by police departments, I feel the urgent need and responsibility to educate our community about a new and effective protection method. Breonna Taylor’s case reveals the egregious behavior around a practice that is quickly becoming commonplace in today’s criminal justice system: hiding the body cam video and/or making it incredibly difficult and expensive to obtain. After a year, Ms. Taylor’s family still seeks justice as they are being told and convinced that no body cam footage exists. The families of Sandra Bland, D’Quan Young, Marqueese Alston, Jeffrey Price, and Oscar Grant, among others, also still seek the truth, …years after the loss of their loved ones and the withholding of body cam footage.

As a Black man and a father, it pains me to know that not only is racial injustice continuing to run rampant in this country, but that it is often swept under the rug and hidden by individuals who are sworn to protect and serve. As of 2016, 47% of the country’s law enforcement agencies purchased body cams, however, much of the decision is left to each state to decide how the footage is released. Studies have shown that despite the call for agencies to adopt the use of cameras, results are mixed on whether the use of excessive force has declined at all. This further proves the need for individuals to have their own body cam system where the behavior of the aggressor is highlighted and the fate of (immediate access to) the video footage is in the hands of the individual and their family.

The murder of George Floyd inspired me to create technology (a smart phone application) to provide the community with extra security in these unfortunate instances. ANJEL Tech™ turns any smartphone into the world’s most powerful bodycam. Our technology was created by a team of people of color, for people of color, to create solutions for our community. ANJEL Tech™ is cloud-based, so if anything happens to an individual’s phone, the recording is secure and remains easily accessible, allowing the pursuance of justice and accountability. The system is GPS-based and live-updates the location of the live-streamed/recorded event every 10 seconds when viewed via the app. It allows multiple family members to simultaneously watch the live-stream in real time and download the video for safe keeping.

The application provides unique and individualized navigation directions from each viewer’s location to the location of the streamer, to get them help from trusted sources (you/friends/family) as soon as possible. Also included, is a triple-redundant notification of the event to pre-designated family/friends via text, email and an in-app notification. While our current reality presents the unfortunate need for such technology, we now have the potential to reduce the emotional, physical and financial toll of police brutality and other hostile public interactions (i.e. the case of Ahmaud Arbery). ANJEL Tech™ gives the community a chance to feel empowered and ensure that aggressors are held accountable and brought to justice.

ANJEL Tech™ is the only app of its kind that is available to both iOS and Android users, and it works all over the world. All you need is the app and a cellphone signal. For more information, please visit www.anjel.tech and www.anjel.live.