For Black Americans, getting pulled over by police can be a more than terrifying experience, particularly when alone and other witnesses are out of sight. Mbye Njie said he founded the Legal Equalizer app to add a layer of protection for drivers and to hold officers accountable by recording interactions and even dialing-in witnesses.
“That’s the goal of it, right, is to change behavior and so that if a police officer pulls you [over] for speeding, legitimately, cool. Give me my ticket, let me get on. Let’s not ask questions about where I’m going, where I’ve been, what I’m doing. Let’s not hold people longer,” Njie told Cheddar.
To get going on the app, five contacts are linked and will receive notifications to tune in to a live Zoom call of the police stop. A user can simply use their voice to activate the app or just hit a button.
Recording police interactions is also an available feature in the app. While they vary across the 50 states, Njie said laws from each have also been added into the app’s features because, in many instances, people are unaware of their rights.
“As long as they know people are watching them, hopefully then when they start pulling people over, then it’s for the reason they pulled them over and not for any other excuses or anything that can escalate to something more tragic,” Njie said.
Holding Police Accountable
When it comes to police accountability, with enough data collected from the stops, according to the Legal Equalizer founder, the app will be able to compile a background on officers who are targeting specific groups.
To make the app helpful for both drivers and authorities, Njie asked police departments across the country, “What do you want us to do when you pull us over?”
“Most of the police chiefs I’ve spoken to love it because they say, 'We do want our officer recorded because if we trained them properly and we did things properly, then this is exactly what we need,'” Njie added.
Though Njie said he started the app after personal experiences with police, it has morphed into a hub that can help in a number of different scenarios, including domestic violence situations and school shootings.
Up next for the app, when it comes to law enforcement interactions, Njie said the company is working to expand capabilities that can tie in a database of attorneys who could also be tapped to join in during an encounter, offer advice, and stand as legal witnesses.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse joined Cheddar to discuss the latest push to get rid of Daylight Savings Time. A practice where several say can cause havoc on one's sleeping schedule and cause disruptions to our economy.
The past decade or so has been a has seen massive change-- usually good-- for the LGBTQ+ community. Same-sex marriage has seen broader acceptance, and there's been increased conversation about the reality of gender identity. Now, folks who don't identify as male or female can travel while staying true to their more authentic self.
The Biden administration has issued the first passport with a gender-neutral designation "X." the passport was issued to Dana Zzyym, an intersex activist from Colorado, after a long legal battle with the state department in which Zzyym argued they shouldn't be required to lie about their identity on their passport. Advocates for such changes have applauded the move, saying it will allow people who don't identify as male or female to travel the globe in a more safe and visible way.
Paul Castillo, counsel at Lambda Legal and Zzyym's attorney in this case, joins None of the Above to discuss.
The Biden Administration has announced its latest plans to support veterans who had been exposed to toxic chemicals from burn pits. According to several veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, a number of them were exposed to hour-long periods of burn pits. As a result, many of them say they have suffered from severe life-long side effects. Co-founder at Burn Pits 360 Le Roy Torres, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Ballots have been sent to workers at three different Starbucks locations in Buffalo, NY to decide whether they will unionize for the first time ever. Wilma Liebman, former Chair of the National Labor Relations Board and Michelle Eisen from the Starbucks Workers United Organization, which is behind this vote, joined Cheddar to discuss.
The parent company of North Face, Vans and Supreme, VF Corp, released its fourth annual "Made for Change" sustainability and responsibility report. It details the company's ongoing efforts to tackle social and climate related issues. This comes as climate experts continue to warn about the dangers of fast fashion and its impact on global CO2 emissions. Sean Cady, Vice President of Global Sustainability, Responsibility and Trade at VF Corporation, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
A jam-packed Freitag pod with Carlo and Baker: new Covid hotspots, Kyle Rittenhouse trial, Belarus making trouble for Europe, red-hot housing market, and how to manage a PR crisis the right way.
Damian Mason, a farm owner, Agricultural Economist and Author of 'Food Fear,' joined Cheddar to discuss the rising prices of food as we approach the holiday season.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, turned heads on Tuesday when it announced it will block some ad-targeting, specifically those of a political and religious nature.
This is one of the most direct moves the company has made in order to minimize ad-targeting by advertisers on its platforms. Hastie Afkhami, Head of Digital at S-3 Group, joins Cheddar News to discuss the impact of this move.
