MOSCOW, December 3 (Sputnik) – The use of body cameras by officers would not help with fundamental problems between police and communities, said Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh.
“The body camera is a tool that can be used, [but] it goes a lot deeper than that… [The cameras] aren’t going to help with the fundamental problems between community and police,” Walsh told The Boston Globe.
The mayor added that he was instead focused on community relations, as well as improving job and educational opportunities, the news outlet reported on Tuesday.
On Monday, US President Barack Obama asked Congress to allocate $263 million for police body cameras and training. The program would offer a total of $75 million over three years to match state funding for the cameras by 50 percent, helping to pay for more than 50,000 of the devices.
Obama's initiative follows unrest in Ferguson, Missouri after a grand jury decided not to bring charges against Darren Wilson, a white officer who fatally shot African-American teenager Michael Brown. The decision ignited tensions over the relationship between police and community and calls for greater police accountability.
