When police departments across the country began the use of body cameras, for some reason, the public took a collective sigh of relief in regards to critical issues within our criminal justice system.

Supporters proclaimed, “The cameras will hold officers accountable” and “It will allow our police departments to be more transparent.”

We bought into their lies.

Well, more like everyone else believed them because I jumped off the bandwagon and joined club, “We don’t believe you.” So why did I get off the burning wagon? Because the killings of 12 black men before Alton Sterling were caught on camera. These cameras only make the issue visible, not accessible.

Take for instance the press conference held by Charlotte’s police chief regarding the shooting death of Keith Lamont Scott. Chief Kerr Putney was asked by a reporter about the mixed messages he was sending to the public regarding the department’s investigation. Putney insisted there would be full transparency and then announced his decision not to release the tapes from Scott’s shooting.

His response, “I appreciate your passion, but I never said full transparency. I said transparency.Transparency is in the eye of the beholder.”

Did you realize that your mic was on?

Oxford defines the term transparent as, “Having thoughts or feelings that are easily perceived; open to public scrutiny.”

Where, Putney? Where. Where is this transparency you speak of? Apparently, transparency or the lack thereof is a recurring theme for the state.

North Carolina has failed time and time again in the transparent department. Elected officials have cost the state the NBA All-Star Game, ACC Championship game and millions of dollars in tourism revenue. But I never expected the state of North Carolina to fail so miserably with its policing.

It’s clear that Putney is not the only leader needing a dictionary to define transparency. During a press conference about mail fraud, Attorney General Loretta Lynch referenced the current state of affairs in her home state.

“The tragic incidents in Charlotte and in Tulsa, Oklahoma, earlier this week once again underscored the divisions that persist between law enforcement officers and communities of color. One of my top priorities as Attorney General has been to do everything in my power to help heal those divides, and the Department of Justice will continue working tirelessly to protect the rights of all Americans; to give law enforcement the resources they need to do their jobs safely and fairly; to open dialogue and promote reconciliation; and to reduce violence of all kind in this country,” Lynch said.

She pushed for transparency without living up to the definition.

The DOJ has managed to storm us with more investigative reports detailing what we’ve already known to be true. (re: Baltimore’s police are racially bias. Oh, and so is Ferguson.)

For every government employee who has failed to understand what transparency means let me help you out. Making a differentiation between “full transparency” and “transparency” is like you promising me a sweet potato pie but instead you bring me a pumpkin pie. Give me what you promised me, not what you think I will settle for. Give me the truth of why your officers are trained to respond to black men and women like targets but white criminals are getting hot meals on the way to the jail. Give me the truth of why a white man can eat two people alive and bite officers but he manages to escape the situation alive and unharmed.

Give me the truth as to why Keith Scott is not here.

Attorney General Lynch and Chief Putney, if you want protestors to demonstrate peacefully in Charlotte then we need you to practice this so-called transparency. And while you’re at it, please remember the disruption of peace that it took to get you in the very seats you sit in today. We are sick and tired of being sick and tired. One day, you will get there too.

Loving Blavity’s articles? Sign up for our daily newsletter.

chief kerr putney

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week