ACLU to unveil video recording app at Maryland, DC offices

BALTIMORE - (AP) -- The Maryland branch of the American Civil Liberties Union is unveiling a free smartphone app citizens can use to shoot, upload and submit videos of police encounters directly to the organization.

The ACLU will make the announcement at noon on Friday in Baltimore. There will also be a news conference in Washington.

The app, called Mobile Justice MD, will be available in English and Spanish, and allows people to take videos that are immediately sent to their local ACLU offices.

The announcement comes at a time when violent police encounters, particularly involving black men, are the subject of a growing national conversation about race and policing in the United States.