LAPD Officer Jin Oh displays video from a body camera (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
On Tuesday the Los Angeles Police Commission voted to approve a policy requiring officers be equipped with body cameras. The 3-1 vote happened after great debate over whether or not officers should be allowed to review video footage from the cameras prior to writing reports or giving statements to investigators following severe force incidents.
After about 18-months of effort this vote moves the LAPD a bit closer to becoming the nation's largest law enforcement agency to adopt the widespread use of the body cam devices.
After about 18-months of effort this vote moves the LAPD a bit closer to becoming the nation's largest law enforcement agency to adopt the widespread use of the body cam devices.
“It’s an exciting start to history,” said Commission Presidetn Steve Soboroff. “But with that comes a really big responsibility for this department to do this correctly.”
via KTLA.com
Civil libertarians opposed allowing officers to review the footage, though LAPD officials said investigators may prevent officers from looking at the video in some cases where serious force is used.
On another contentious issue, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck also told the commission that the department generally does not release video evidence before the end of an investigation. He anticipated using the same standard with body camera footage “in the vast majority of cases,” he said, but raised the possibility that he may reconsider.
On another contentious issue, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck also told the commission that the department generally does not release video evidence before the end of an investigation. He anticipated using the same standard with body camera footage “in the vast majority of cases,” he said, but raised the possibility that he may reconsider.
WRITTEN BY: VIOLA CONSTANCE | @Voila_its_Viola
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