North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory this week signed into law a measure exempting police audio and video from the public record – a move that comes in the wake of furor over the fatal police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota and one that critics say undercuts needed accountability.

Under HB 972, also known as the "Body Cam" bill, recordings from body- or dashboard-mounted cameras can only be released to the public through a court order, instead of via a public records request. Those captured on police audio or video can ask to hear or watch the footage, though authorities can deny that request pending a judge compelling them to comply. Release of recordings to prosecutors would be permitted.

State Attorney General Roy Cooper – a Democrat challenging McCrory, a Republican, for the governor's office – called the law "too restrictive" in an interview with a local ABC affiliate, adding it "goes too far in preventing access by the public."

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, seen here taking a question during a conference May 4, signed the bill Monday. Ethan Hyman/Raleigh News & Observer/TNS via Getty Images

Yet McCrory contends the measure, setting uniform statewide standards for the release of police video, protects not only the interests of police, but also of victims, witnesses and even suspects recorded by law enforcement.

Videos from dashboard cameras previously had been considered personnel footage, giving individual police agencies more discretion over when to make footage public. The new law takes effect Oct. 1.

"Technology, like dashboard and body cameras, can be very helpful," the governor said at a signing ceremony Monday. "But when used by itself, technology can also mislead and misinform, which causes other issues and problems within our communities. So what we need to do is walk that fine line."

McCrory's office did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday morning. The governor has not cited a specific incident in which a person was hurt by the release of footage.

The Southern States Police Benevolent Association, however, strongly supports the law and alluded to the unrest that has roiled the U.S. since bystander videos captured the fatal shooting by police of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge last Tuesday and the aftermath of the shooting of Philando Castile by an officer in a St. Paul suburb the following day.

"We don't have to go too far to see when information is released prematurely that has resulted in injury and death, especially in light of the last week or so, and still we have not seen all the details that have led to all that violence," says John Midgette, executive director of the North Carolina Division of the Southern States PBA. "It's better suited for a judge to make those decisions in a public courtroom than to allow editors in various newsrooms to decide what should be out there and what shouldn't."

Protesters marched in Charlotte, N.C., last Thursday to protest the shooting deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling earlier that week. Mark Hamnes/The Charlotte Observer via AP

Opponents warn North Carolina's law erects a new barrier that could prevent crucial footage from being released. Police video of the 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald in Chicago, for example, contradicted earlier police accounts.

More locally, in North Carolina, the family of Chieu Di Thi Vo – a Vietnamese-American with bipolar disorder who was fatally shot by a former Greensboro police officer in 2014 – has contended that body-camera video of the incident shows the fatal use of force wasn't needed, contrary to authorities' findings.

"People who are filmed by police body cameras should not have to spend time and money to go to court in order to see that footage," Susanna Birdsong, policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, said in a statement. "These barriers are significant and we expect them to drastically reduce any potential this technology had to make law enforcement more accountable to community members."

A spokesman for the ACLU chapter declined to say whether it's planning a legal challenge, but urged "anyone who has problems obtaining police body camera footage to contact our office for assistance."

As McCrory signed the law Monday, national lawmakers were moving forward with their own efforts to strengthen protections for police. On Tuesday, the House passed the POLICE Act, a measure that allows Justice Department grants to go toward active-shooter training for law enforcement officers, sending the bill to the president's desk for signature.