NEW YORK: New York City police launched a pilot programme to equip officers with body cameras, hours before media reports that a grand jury decided against bringing charges against a white policeman in the choke hold death of a black Staten Island man.
The video camera programme was ordered by a federal court judge who ruled last year that police had unfairly stopped and frisked black and Latino New Yorkers. It aims to make officers more careful and accountable about using force, Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters, while reducing complaints and lawsuits.