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Some North Carolina laws that took effect on Wednesday are designed to protect expectant mothers behind bars, keep more elementary school-age children accused of misdeeds out of court and force police officers to speak up about excessive force.

The measures, among over two dozen the General Assembly approved this year that contain a Dec. 1 start date, also reduce lifetime satellite monitoring of those declared dangerous sex offenders to 10 years and allow some people to get more felonies removed from their records.

The legislation addressing pregnant women inside North Carolina's prisons and county jails — and ultimately the newborns they deliver — received wide support from across the political spectrum.

Under the new law, correctional officers and sheriff's deputies are now largely barred from using physical restraints on women serving time or awaiting trial from their second trimester through several weeks after delivery. While shackling pregnant women had been barred by state prison policy since 2017, enforcement wasn't always uniform, and county jails had a patchwork of procedures.

Once a baby is delivered, the prisoner or inmate must have time with her newborn at the hospital, and once back behind bars a prisoner can receive routine visitations with the baby in certain lower-security prisons.

Another bipartisan measure now lifts the minimum age that children can be prosecuted in juvenile courts from 6 to 8. North Carolina had the lowest age for juvenile adjudication set by law in the country. Supporters of the change said the youngest offenders lack the intellectual capacity to understand the juvenile court proceedings and assist in their defense.

Some 8- or 9-year-olds who commit the most severe felonies would still have to go to juvenile court and before a judge, who could require intensive treatment and even probation. Otherwise, children in this age range could still receive several months of counseling.

Police reform measures passed and signed by Gov. Roy Cooper contain several items also starting Wednesday. They came in response to recent deadly law enforcement confrontations with citizens around the country, including the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.

One provision now places a duty on all law enforcement officers to report a fellow officer's apparent excessive force to a superior within 72 hours of the occurrence.

Another item alters the process by which family members can privately view police body camera footage of a death or serious injury in a way that removes a law office's discretion to refuse the family's request, and instead puts the issue quickly before a judge. The change stems from the aftermath of April's fatal shooting of Andrew Brown Jr. by Pasquotank County sheriff's deputies.

A broad criminal justice measure also caps at 10 years the amount of time that a convicted sex offender could be forced to wear an electronic device monitoring their whereabouts. A lifetime mandate, with opportunities to ask a judge to end the requirement, had been in place for "aggravated offenders" and certain others convicted of sex crimes. The changes were largely in response to a 2019 state Supreme Court ruling focusing on people subject to lifetime tracking only because the person has been convicted of multiple sex offenses.

That same law starting Wednesday creates new felonies against someone who seriously injures an officer while resisting arrest.

Other laws that took effect Wednesday:

— toughen current laws that make stealing catalytic converters from a car a felony, in part by adding a $1,000 fine to anyone who buys or sells the emission control device improperly.

— increase the penalty for breaking into a law enforcement vehicle and create new felonies for stealing police equipment.

— prohibit the possession — and not just the use — of a "skimming device" that can steal financial information from a credit card that's entered into an ATM or gas pump.

— allow people to ask a court to remove up to three nonviolent felony convictions from their record if they happened relatively close together and were settled at least 20 years ago. Previous law limited expunctions to one such felony or multiple nonviolent misdemeanors.

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Mourners attend the funeral for Andrew Brown Jr., Monday, May 3, 2021 at Fountain of Life Church in Elizabeth City, N.C. Brown was fatally shot by Pasquotank County Sheriff deputies trying to serve a search warrant. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

The Rev. Al Sharpton issued a powerful call for transparency and the release of body camera footage at the funeral Monday for Andrew Brown Jr., a Black man shot and killed by deputies in North Carolina, with the civil rights leader likening withholding the video to a "con" job done on the public.

"I know a con game when I see it. Release the whole tape and let the folks see what happened to Andrew Brown," Sharpton told mourners in a scorching eulogy at the invitation-only service at a church in Elizabeth City.

"You don't need time to get a tape out. Put it out! Let the world see what there is to see. If you've got nothing to hide, then what are you hiding?" he said, to loud applause.

A judge ruled last week that the video would not be made public for at least a month to avoid interference with a pending state investigation into the April 21 shooting of Brown, 42, by deputies attempting to serve drug-related search and arrest warrants.

An independent autopsy commissioned by his family said Brown was shot five times, including once in the back of the head. Family members who were privately shown a portion of the body camera video say Brown was trying to drive away when he was shot. The shooting sparked days of protests in the city in rural northeastern North Carolina.

Other speakers included Brown's sons as well as civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Brown's family. Calling Brown's death an "unjustifiable, reckless shooting," Crump told mourners the legal team would continue fighting for justice and transparency.

"We are here to make this plea for justice because Andrew was killed unjustifiably, as many Black men in America have been killed: shot in the back. Shot, going away from the police. And because Andrew cannot make the plea for justice, it is up to us to make the plea for justice," Crump said.

Relatives of other Black men killed by law enforcement officers, including siblings of George Floyd, Eric Garner's mother and Daunte Wright's sister also spoke at the service. Bridgett Floyd described the "sleepless nights, long days, heartache and pain" that she knows Brown's family is facing, having experienced the killing of her brother by a police officer in Minnesota who was later convicted of murder.

After Brown's funeral, she told reporters it was important for her to come to North Carolina to show support for his family.

"I'm showing them strength right now. If I can do it, they can do it," she said.

A long line of mourners filed into the church, many wearing white T-shirts with Brown's image and the words, "Say his name." In the lobby, a wreath of red and white flowers with a ribbon bearing the message, "Rest in Peace Drew," referring to Brown's nickname, stood next to a tapestry with images of him. As the service started, an ensemble sang songs of praise including, "You're the Lifter," while mourners stood and clapped.

Family members have said that Brown was a proud father of seven, who was known for entertaining relatives with his stories and jokes.

The FBI has launched a civil rights probe of the shooting, while state agents are conducting a separate investigation. Three deputies who were involved remain on leave. The state's Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, has called for swift release of the body camera footage, which must be approved by a judge under state law.

The search and arrest warrants accused Brown of possessing small amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine that he intended to sell. Brown had a criminal history dating back to the 1990s, including past drug convictions.

A prosecutor has said that Brown's car ran into the deputies before they opened fire, while a family attorney who watched a 20-second clip of the footage disagreed, saying that Brown posed no threat and was driving away from deputies. The sheriff has said his deputies weren't injured.

During his eulogy, Sharpton slammed the notion that Brown's past record or actions on the day of the shooting justified violence against him.

"Whatever record Andrew had, Andrew didn't hurt nobody," he said, adding: "How do you try and justify shooting a man that was not a threat to you, because he was running away from you?"

Among those attending the service was 40-year-old Davy Armstrong, who said he went to high school with Brown and lived near him while the two were growing up. He said Brown seemed to be doing well when he ran into him recently before the shooting.

"He was very humble, very generous. He said he was doing good," said Armstrong, who works in construction. "We hear about this on TV all the time. But when it's someone so well known and so respected, it's pretty painful."

After the funeral, 67-year-old Michael Harrell, who lives around the corner from Brown's house, recalled that he would see Brown playing with his kids in the yard.

"Everything is in God's hands," Harrell said of the message he took away from the funeral. "And through God's hands, truth and justice will be served. People will be held accountable."

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In this screenshot from body camera footage 14-year-old, Rockell Baldwin is seen being brought to her feet after having been handcuffed on the ground by Officer Tyler McCormick. CREDIT: WSPD video screenshot.

Body-camera footage has been released of the controversial arrest of a black female student by a white school resource officer at Hanes Magnet Middle School.

The video shows Officer Tyler McCormick following Rockell Baldwin as she walks out of school and into the parking lot. McCormick commands Baldwin to stop multiple times, then makes physical contact with her in a way that is not clearly shown. The SRO then takes the 14-year-old to the ground, as she is crying, and upset. Baldwin is handcuffed and led back into the school.

Dr. Carlton A.G. Eversley with the Ministers' Conference of Winston-Salem and Vicinity has seen the video. The Conference has previously called for McCormick’s resignation. He says some people are reacting to the footage saying the officer is exhibiting proper protocol. Eversley says, “If that’s the case, the protocol needs to be changed.”

The Ministers’ Conference plans to comment further on the body camera footage next week.

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Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan at special meeting 9/26/16 - still from City Council camera

The City of Greensboro is apologizing to a black man who experienced excessive force at the hands of a police officer. A special city council meeting was held Monday to release police body camera footage of the incident.

The video depicts an event that took place on June 17 showing former Officer Travis Cole physically assaulting Dejuan Yourse. It shows him repeatedly yelling “I’m not resisting” while the officer shouts “you’ve been resisting the whole time.”

Officer Cole resigned during the investigation, but is still accountable to any charges against him. The city is seeking a full revocation of his law enforcement certification, assuring that he will never carry a badge again.

All council members including Mayor Nancy Vaughan apologized to Yourse, who was in attendance.

“This will be the second video in approximately four months that the City of Greensboro has released. I’m not sure that there is any other city in the state who has been more transparent or willing to work with body-worn camera video footage than your city council has."

But the meeting was contentious at times, as various community members spoke up, saying they want more answers. Why did it take so long? What about the other officer at the scene?

"What we see is that there are no measures of accountability that are being taken. We’ve seen it in the cases across the country and now we’re seeing it here in Greensboro, to where there’s obviously being harm done, there’s obviously been damage done to the community, and no one is being held accountable," says Irving Allen, who spoke during the public comment period of the meeting.

The City Council says the investigation is ongoing.

(WARNING: This video contains graphic content and may be disturbing for some viewers)

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