Ferguson Cops Put On Body Cameras To Help Record Protestors

Police officers wear what appear to be body cameras as they hold the line against protesters gathered at the police station during a rally in Ferguson, Mo. on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014 for Michael Brown, an unarmed bla... Police officers wear what appear to be body cameras as they hold the line against protesters gathered at the police station during a rally in Ferguson, Mo. on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014 for Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old who was fatally shot by a white police officer three weeks earlier. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Huy Mach) MORE LESS
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Police in Ferguson, Mo. have begun wearing body cameras, in part to record the protestors who have flooded their town in the weeks after a white officer killed an unarmed black teen there.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Sunday that two companies donated about 50 body cameras following teen Michael Brown’s fatal shooting on Aug. 9 by officer Darren Wilson. The devices made their debut on Saturday during a protest monitored by police.

“They are really enjoying them,” Chief Tom Jackson told the Post-Dispatch. “They are trying to get used to using them.”

Jackson added that the cameras picked up scenes of civilians taunting police at Saturday’s protest.

The cameras are battery-powered, attached to an officer’s uniform to record video and audio of an entire shift.

The effectiveness of body cameras has become a nationwide debate in the wake of several police shootings this year, in addition to criticism over policies such as New York City’s stop-and-frisk efforts.

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