U.S. Border Patrol testing body cameras on agents

By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - U.S. Border Patrol has been placing body cameras on its agents in the field as it tests whether the devices should be standard equipment, officials said on Friday. In September, U.S. Border Patrol said body cameras would be used in trial runs for its agents following allegations of abuse and use of excessive force. The tests with the body cameras are scheduled to run through mid-2015. A small number of agents in places such as airports, inland posts and sea ports who have volunteered for the study will wear cameras in the coming months in states including Texas, Florida, Washington and Michigan, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said. "We are doing good work on behalf of the public, but it is difficult to tell that story sometimes, for people to see that," El Paso Sector Deputy Chief Benjamine Huffman told reporters. He said the cameras will allow the public to look over the shoulders of agents and see how they are working. Advocates for immigrants said a few agents have abused their authority by physically and sexually assaulting those who have come over the border, resulting in dozens of deaths over the past few years. "While we welcome cameras as a step forward, they are not a complete solution to CBP's troubling track record of excessive force and other abuses," said Chris Rickerd, policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, a rights advocacy group. The cameras, which will be either worn on the chest or head, cost between $200 to $1,000 each and will be tested in small numbers. Supporters of body cameras say they provide a more objective record of a police encounter than often contradictory accounts. Opponents argue the devices impinge on thorny privacy and legal issues - such at when they should be recording - and should not be used to prosecute government officers. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Eric Beech)