Stockley case leads to fresh call for police to wear body cameras

There’s a new call for St. Louis police to start wearing body cameras, KMOX reported.

Aldermanic President Lewis Reed told KMOX that a lot of the distrust between police and the community would disappear if all police wore body cameras. He’s pushing for a pilot program to outfit all city police with body cameras for free for a year, then for $1.2 million a year after that.

Especially with all eyes on Jason Stockley’s murder trial verdict, body cameras are a topic across the city and country. Reed said the Jason Stockley case may have unfolded differently if the officers had been wearing body cameras.

Reed will ask the city’s finance board to approve the pilot plan next week, KMOX reported.

There was widespread support for body cameras after the Michael Brown shooting and 2014 protests in Ferguson, KMOV reported.

Officials are expecting protests after the Stockley verdict comes back, which is expected to be Friday. Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens met with black faith leaders in hopes of keeping unrest low, and took steps to activate the Missouri National Guard in case of violence. Police are operating in 12-hour shifts to be prepared, and barricades have gone up around the courthouse.

This story was originally published September 15, 2017 at 8:41 AM with the headline "Stockley case leads to fresh call for police to wear body cameras."