Legislation requiring Kansas law enforcement officers to be equipped with body cameras has gained bipartisan support in the new session, but lawmakers are concerned about the cost.
A bill backed by Democratic Representative Gail Finney of Wichita likely will be considered in the House Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee. The committee chairman supports the cameras but thinks the measure might be an unfunded mandate.
Democratic Senator David Haley of Kansas City is pushing a similar proposal.
Finney says Wichita has experienced a number of officer-involved shootings and could potentially have an incident like in Ferguson, Missouri, where sometimes violent protests followed the shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer.