Governor Dannel Malloy has signed legislation that makes a number of changes to law enforcement practices in the state.
The bill requires State Police, public university police and municipal police departments that receive certain state grants to wear body cameras.
Called "An Act Concerning Excessive Use of Force", the police accountability measure was state lawmakers’ response to the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police officers in Ferguson, Missouri and New York City.
At the bill signing Thursday, Governor Malloy said people watched in horror as events unfolded in states around the country, fracturing relationships between law enforcement and those they serve. He said this legislation takes Connecticut down a different path.
"What we’ve decided to do in this legislation specifically is take a proactive approach to policing, to training, to hiring, and to a reporting system which in essence becomes automatic because of the presence of a body camera," he said.
Malloy said these changes may be difficult for some people to support.
"What’s most important in policing is that the citizens that we serve ultimately support and believe in the force that is in their community to protect them," he said.
Malloy said law enforcement should be seen, not as a military unit, but as part of the community.
The legislation also calls on police departments to develop and implement guidelines to recruit more minority officers.
