Bill to require police to wear body cameras gets support from Michael Brown's mother

Intro:	The mother whose son Michael Brown was shot to death by a Ferguson police officer in 2014 urged a Senate committee to require police to wear body cams.
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Wrap: Michael Brown's mother, Lezley McSpadden, said that video footage of the police encounter that lead to her son's death would have given her the closure she said she will never have.

She testified before a hearing of the Senate Transportation Committee:

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Description: It has been 557 and I am still left with the mystery of what happened to my son.

The bill would make it a requirement for police in Missouri's five largest cities to wear body cameras while on the job.

The bill's sponsor said it would promote greater police accountability.

But a couple of committee members questioned the costs of requiring body cams and privacy concerns if the videos became public.

Intro:	Police in Missouri's largest cities would be required to wear body cams under a bill presented to the Senate Transportation Committee.
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Wrap: The bill is sponsor by St. Louis Democrat Jamilah Nasheed.

A couple of committee members voiced concerns about the costs to local police departments to pay for the body cams.

But Nasheed said the bill has faced legislative backlash for a different reason.

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Description: I think the main opposition is ignorance. The lack of need for body cameras.

The mother of Michael Brown who was shot dead by a Ferguson police officer two years ago testified in favor of the bill. She said body cameras would increase police accountability and neighborhood safety.

Intro:	The mother whose son was shot to death by a Ferguson police officer urged a Senate committee to require police to wear body cams.
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Wrap: Lezley McSpadden told the Senate Transportation Committee she still does not know exactly what happened on the night of her son's death in 2014.

She encouraged legislators to pass the bill to create a safer community by requiring body camps.

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Description: And please know that this isn't a black and white issue, this is a right and wrong issue. And I'm asking you today, will you stand on the side of what's right?

But committee members raised concerns about the costs of the requirement and protecting the privacy of video that would be captured of crime victims and bystanders.

No representative of a police union testified. The committee did not take an immediate vote on the bill.

Intro:	No members of any police unions were present to testify against a bill that would make it a requirement for police to wear body cameras, but the mother of a St. Louis area police officer testified in favor of the bill.
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Wrap: Phyllis Scales, whose child works as a police officer in the St. Louis area, said she supports the bill because it provides protection for police officers.

She said she feels the bill works in favor of both police and civilians.

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Description: I feel for all parents that get a call where their childs been shot by a police officer. But I also feel for the parents that get a call that a police officer has been shot. So I would like both sides of the spectrum to be looked at today.

Some police representatives have previously expressed a disinterest in having cops so closely monitored, but no one representing police was at the hearing to testify against the bill.