The Ferguson Police Department is now wearing lapel cameras. The department began doing so three weeks to the day that unrest in Ferguson began with the shooting death of 18-year-old unarmed teen Michael Brown at the hands of Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson.
Ferguson mayor James Knowles told those in attendance of a special St. Louis Public Radio town hall forum last week entitled “Ferguson and Beyond” that the department had been equipped with cameras, though he said he was unsure when officers would begin using them.
The Associated Press reported the department debuted the cameras on the same day they stood guard for the National March on Ferguson – which took place on Aug. 30 and included thousands of demonstrators walking to the site where Brown was killed and ultimately to the Ferguson Police Department headquarters.
Knowles said that upon implementation of the body cameras into the standard operating procedure of the department that each on-duty officer would be required to wear one.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.