New York's Police Department Commissioner said this week at police headquarters that the NYPD will begin a pilot program of body-worn video cameras.

"I am a big time supporter of the tech [body cameras] being used by police officers," Commissioner Bill Bratton said. "The NYPD has a history of  embracing technology as part of keeping New York City safe."

The pilot program will begin in February in five police precincts and one public housing precinct with volunteer participation by police officers in all five boroughs and will run for one year.

The cameras, which capture video and audio, will be manufactured by Taser (Axon Flex) and VieVu (LE3). The Axon Flex can be mounted on a shoulder or on glasses, while the LE3 can be clipped onto the front of a shirt and is the size of a pager.

"The precincts mostly cover East Harlem in Manhattan, Mott Haven in the Bronx, East New York in Brooklyn, Jamaica in Queens and the north shore of Staten Island, where Mr. Garner died," the Wall Street Journal reported. "Police Service Area 2, a public housing precinct that covers crime-heavy Brooklyn neighborhoods such as Brownsville and East New York, is also part of the pilot."

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Public Advocate Letitia James issued a joint statement to the press:

"This pilot program will provide transparency, accountability and protection for both the police officers and those they serve, while reducing financial losses for the city. New York City will do everything it takes to stay the safest big city in the nation. This means testing new methods and staying ahead of the curve on emerging technologies like body cameras. While we have yet to work out many specifics -- such as data storage and confidentiality -- our offices look forward to working together with the police department to ensure this promising pilot program is the right fit for our City and makes every New Yorker safer."

Last year, federal court Judge Shira Scheindlin recommended police wear body cameras in her ruling in the class action case, Floyd v. the City of New York, over the NYPD's controversial stop-question-and-frisk policy, which was found unconstitutional. At the time, the Bloomberg Administration opposed the recommendation as did the Patrolmen's Benevolent Fund, the police union.

Then Eric Garner was killed in July from a police officer's chokehold. The incident was captured on a cell phone video.

Following Garner's death, James petitioned for a body-worn video camera pilot program to record civilian stops for 15 percent of precincts with the highest rates of crime and complaints of misconduct. The pilot program was estimated to cost $5 million dollars.

James argued the cameras could help curb police brutality and save the city millions of dollars in legal costs. Last year alone, the city paid out $152 million in judgments because of police misconduct. James said the money could be better spent on social programs.

Pilot programs are underway in Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Police departments are already using the cameras in Chesapeake, Virginia; New Orleans; Oakland, Rialto and San Diego in California; and Spokane, Washington.  A study conducted by the Rialto police department found complaints dropped by 88 percent and use of force by 59 percent when cameras were instituted.

Donna Lieberman of the New York Civil Liberties Union said cameras could be a win-win for police and communities, "as long as their use is limited to police interactions and addressing complaints of abuse or wrongdoing."

But she added the NYCLU has concerns "about mission creep and privacy. The NYPD has a long history of engaging in surveillance of innocent New Yorkers, and body cameras can't become yet another tool for massive police surveillance. Safeguards must be in place to protect the privacy of both officers and the public."

Bratton's announcement of the program comes just before the New York City Council will conduct a hearing on the police department review of its training procedures. Bratton promised to do a thorough review on how the department trains its officers and promised substantive changes following the death of Garner. The hearing is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 8