If an Iowa House bill passes, the state's police officers will be required to wear body cameras whenever they deal with the public. Iowa's bill is one of 85 pieces of body camera legislation being considered by 30 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Bills in a dozen states, including Iowa are aiming for legislation that would require law enforcement officers to utilize body cameras.

Currently, there aren't any state laws that require officers to wear body cameras, according to Richard Williams of the NCSL.

About five years ago, officers began wearing body cameras after the August shooting death of an unarmed teenager by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo. Since there were no recordings of that incident, concerned citizens and civil rights activists began pushing departments to use body cameras.

Democratic State Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad said, "We see incidents all the time where body cameras would have been helpful to have." He introduced a bill to the Iowa House that would require local, county and state law enforcement officers and school resource officers to wear body cameras. The bill is now with the House Public Safety Committee.

President Obama Supports Body Cameras

In December, President Obama proposed spending $75 million to help local agencies purchase 50,000 body cameras for their officers. Obama said that for those agencies that buy body cameras, the federal government would provide a 50 percent match.

Body cameras have dual purposes: they protect the public from police officer misconduct, and footage captured on the devices can help prosecutors secure convictions by supplying visual evidence against a defendant.

If you have been arrested for a crime and the police have video evidence against you, an experienced criminal lawyer will protect your constitutional rights!