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Michigan State Police seek $2M to livestream patrol dashcams

Michigan State Police arm badge
Michigan State Police

Michigan State Police want to invest more than $2 million dollars into technology to livestream patrol car dashboard cameras following a Detroit teenager's death after a state trooper used a stun gun on him.

The Detroit Free Press reports that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer included the technology upgrade in this year's state budget proposal. It would allow supervisors to monitor pursuits and other incidents in real time.

The proposal comes two years after a white state trooper, Mark Bessner, used a Taser on a black 15-year-old from a moving patrol car. The teen, Damon Grimes, then crashed the all-terrain vehicle he was riding and died.

Bessner was charged with second-degree murder in Grimes' death, but the case ended in a mistrial last year.

State police didn't specifically reference Grimes' death in its budget request.