We're watching: All La. troopers to wear body cameras

Louisiana will become the first state to equip every trooper with a body camera, Gov. John Bel Edwards and State Police Col. Mike Edmonson announced Wednesday.

"This full statewide deployment is the first-of-its-kind in the country," Edwards said during a news conference at the Governor's Mansion. "Nobody else has done what we're announcing today."

The decision to equip all 700 troopers with body cameras comes after a summer of unrest in Baton Rouge, where the killing of Alton Sterling by police generated massive protests, which was followed by the murder of three policemen and wounding of three more by a lone gunman, but Edmonson has been planning to institute the program for almost a year.

Edwards said Wednesday he doesn't know when the U.S. Department of Justice will complete its investigation of the Sterling shooting.

Edmonson called the body camera initiative "a home run" for police and the public.

"This is exciting to me," he said. "This is about transparency and accountability, and it's great to be first."

New Jersey State Police rolled out a similar program in October, equipping three state police trooper stations with body cameras, according to a NJ Advance Media report. The limited rollout will test the process. NJSP plans to equip all patrolling officers, but a timeline for implementation wasn't set.

LSP plans to purchase 1,500 cameras, two for each of the 700 patrolling troopers. The second camera will be a backup in case the first malfunctions. The remaining cameras will be used as replacements and for special assignments. 

Edmonson said the initiative will cost $5.3 million over the life of a five-year contract with TASER, whose founder and chief executive Rick Smith also attended the news conference.

"When people know they're being recorded, everybody's behavior improves," Smith said.

Edmonson said the video from the cameras will be subject to public records laws.

He said troopers in the New Orleans unit will receive the cameras first in January with full deployment throughout the state by summer.

He also said the body cameras will be valuable training tools.

"We can look at what you're doing right and what you're doing wrong," Edmonson said.

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1