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LAPD will add body cameras

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Mayor Eric Garcetti on Tuesday announced a plan to outfit LAPD officers with body cameras. The department already has a pilot program underway involving 600 body cameras paid for by $1.35 million in private donations.

Garcetti joins LAPD Chief Charlie Beck in the call for video recording by officers after President Barack Obama’s announcement that he wants $263 million in federal funds to be directed toward the purchase of such video devices and the training of law enforcement officers on patrol in their proper use. The president’s request comes in the wake of protests over a grand jury’s decision not to indict a White police officer who shot and killed unarmed Ferguson, Mo., teenager Michael Brown.

Los Angeles Police Commissioner Steve Soboroff, who raised funds for the city’s pilot program, said this month that the city should go after available federal funds; he estimates that the LAPD would need about 7,000 cameras to outfit all patrol officers.

It is believed that the cameras would help shield both residents and police officers from incidents of deadly force. Some cities that have deployed body cameras on officers have reported that citizen complaints have dropped by as much as 80 percent. The LAPD has tested two brands of body cameras since the summer; the department recently selected the Taser body cameras—designed to be worn on the chest—over ones manufactured by Coban for use in the pilot program. Soberoff said specific policies for using the body cameras are expected to be unveiled early next year.

“We understand that the community has asked for transparency in all levels of government, and that includes with policing efforts,” said Councilman Curren Price (9th District). “This city-wide body camera program will help us increase public trust in our law enforcement, and we must ensure that it is rolled out in a way that prioritizes our neediest communities.”

Price said in a statement released on Tuesday that in the aftermath of the Michael Brown killing and the deaths this year of South L.A. residents Ezell Ford and Omar Abrego, “community relations with law enforcement has become a pressing issue for the country, and for South Los Angeles in particular.”

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