New Hampshire lawmakers will vote next session whether to equip state police with body cameras, a practice police departments nationwide are examining following a fatal police shooting of an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Missouri.
Republican Rep. Kyle Tasker, the bill's prime sponsor, says the cameras would protect the police from false accusations and the public from police abuse.
He first introduced the bill last year, but said the August shooting has further heightened the need for cameras to document police work.
Major Chris AuCoin of the state police says his primary concern about cameras relates to the cost.
Tasker said he took testimony that cameras cost about $700 each. On Monday, President Barack Obama proposed spending $75 million to help buy 50,000 police body cameras.
