In the wake of the shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown by the hands of a Ferguson, Mo. police officer Darren Wilson, Ferguson officials have promised to explore changes in the city’s law enforcement structure — a move that could introduce police vest cameras to the department.
In a statement, the city of Ferguson said they “plan to learn from this tragedy.”
The statement was attributed to “our mayor, members of the City Council and city employees.”
Police in Rialto, California already wear similar cameras that have reportedly brought down the use of force by 60 percent.
From The Wire:
They record all interactions the officers have and they’re about the size of a pager. In the first year of their use in Rialto, use of force fell by 60 percent and citizen complaints by 88 percent. The Rialto police chief explained, “When you talk about putting a camera on somebody, human nature is going to dictate that you’re going to mind your p’s and q’s and you’re going to be on the best behavior. At the same time, I think it’s had an impact on citizens. If they know you’re wearing a camera, they too will be on their best behavior.”
According to NBC, an online petition urging the Obama administration to work for a “Mike Brown Law” requiring all state and local police departments to use such cameras had reached more than 123,000 signatures by Tuesday evening.
