The Freeport, New York, Police Department announced Thursday that it will equip its entire uniformed police force with body cameras, making it the first in the state to do so.
The program will also equip all marked and some unmarked police vehicles in the city with dashboard-mounted cameras.
The move was announced Thursday morning by Acting Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas and Freeport Mayor Robert T. Kennedy at a news conference.
Freeport is now the first police department in the state to be fully outfitted with body and dashboard cameras, Singas said. As part of the program, 19 marked and unmarked vehicles and 60 officers will get the cameras.
Four of the city's officers have been testing out the body cameras since last June. One of the officers, Jason Zimmer, said that his camera has helped calm people in tense situations.
Officers are required to turn on the cameras before every public interaction.
Video from the cameras is saved for 120 days unless it's being used as evidence.
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Money for the program came from $108,000 in asset forfeiture funds provided by the DA's office, officials said.
The NYPD began equipping some of its officers with body cameras in December.
Officers from Staten Island's 120th precinct, the Bronx's 40th precinct and Police Service Area No. 2, the housing bureau office tasked with patrolling public housing offices in Brooklyn, were the first precincts to begin wearing the cameras as part of a $50,000 pilot program.
The White House has said the cameras could help bridge mistrust between law enforcement and the public. It also potentially could help resolve the type of disputes between police and witnesses that arose in the Ferguson, Missouri shooting last August.
