Boston police finally rolling out body-worn cameras

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BOSTON (AP) — Boston police are set to launch a body camera program after months of resistance from rank-and-file officers.

The cameras officially go live Sept. 1 on 100 officers. A department consultant had to select a racially diverse mix of officers to test the cameras because none volunteered.

The department says 55 of the officers are white, 29 are black, 13 are Latino and three are Asian; 87 are men.

The six-month trial began with officer training last week. The cameras will be used in some of Boston’s high-crime neighborhoods, college student areas and tourist hotspots.

Activists have called for the program since the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. But the police officer’s union fought the proposal and the mayor and police commissioner had mixed views initially.

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