President Barack Obama is requesting $262 million in federal funding to help pay for 50,000 body cameras for police officers in the wake of the Michael Brown shooting that sparked violent protests in Ferguson, Missouri.

Many businesses in the community were looted and burned after the grand jury decided not to indict Darren Wilson in the shooting death of the teenager.

The Freeport Police Department was the first on Long Island to equip its officers with body cameras. The cameras are about 3 inches long and weigh just a few ounces.

"It's going to assist the police in gathering all sorts of information which may have otherwise gone unrecorded," says Sgt. Kevin Edell, of the Freeport police. "It's also going to substantiate our actions and hold up against frivolous complaints against the police."

Nassau police are continuing a pilot program for body cameras in a number of precincts. Suffolk police say they have no plans to equip their officers with the cameras at this time.