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Missouri Limits Body Camera Videos Two Years After Ferguson

Scott Davidson via Flickr

  JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Legislation limiting public access to police body camera videos has won final approval in Missouri in a move that some supporters hope will help encourage their use.

The bill's passage Tuesday comes nearly two years after the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson touched off massive protests over the way police interact with residents.

Ferguson police did not have body cameras at the time. And the lack of video evidence helped feed doubts and speculation over exactly what transpired before a white officer fatally shot the black 18-year-old on a city street.

The Missouri bill would close videos from police body and vehicle cameras while investigations are ongoing. Videos taken at homes, schools, medical facilities and other "nonpublic locations" could remain closed even after the investigation ends.

 

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