St. Charles OKs body cameras for its police

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- An eastern Missouri city is the latest among a number of municipalities around the nation that have approved body cameras for their police force.

The St. Charles City Council voted Tuesday for a nearly $425,000 contract with Taser International to provide 90 cameras and five years of video storage.

Police Chief Randy McKinley said he's been considering the idea for more than a year.

He says it wasn't prompted by the unrest that followed the August fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

McKinley says the cameras will protect the city and police officers from wrongful accusations. He said the technology can also protect the public whenever an officer may mistreat a resident.