Baton Rouge Councilwoman Wants Police Body Cameras

A Baton Rouge Metro Councilwoman says she wants city police to join the ranks of New Orleans, Thibodaux and other police departments across the country that are using body cameras to increase officer accountability.

Louisiana Councilwoman C. Denise Marcelle tells The Advocate recent news stories involving police, both locally and nationally, motivated her to put pressure on the Baton Rouge Police Department to consider the surveillance technology.

Marcelle said she grew concerned watching the brutal confrontation between protesters and police in Ferguson, Missouri, following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old man, by a police officer last month.

Cpl. Don Coppola Jr., a Baton Rouge police spokesman, said the agency would be interested in reviewing the possibility of acquiring body cameras if the opportunity arose.