City Puts LAPD’s Plan to Equip Officers With Body Cameras on Hold

A $58 million plan to equip nearly every Los Angeles police officer with body cameras by the end of the year has been delayed by concerns over the cost.

Mayor Eric Garcetti had pledged to have the cameras on thousands of officers by the end of 2016. But the Los Angeles Times reports that the department doesn't expect to outfit 7,000 officers until the fall of 2017 at the earliest.

Councilman Mitch Englander says he now wants the department to start the bidding process over, saying it's more important to get the program right, "not just do it quickly."

Another issue with the current camera plan, acording to LA City Councilman Mike Bonin, is that it will use too many police officers to set up and monitor the video footage.

"When LAPD first made their request, we were all in favor of the body cams. But they said it would take 50 uniformed officers and we don't want to lose 50 cops from patroling our neighborhoods," Bonin said.

About 860 cameras, purchased through private donations, are already in use by LAPD's Mission division in the San Fernando Valley.

Board of Police Commissioner Steve Soboroff says city lawmakers are "horribly underestimating the ramifications" of delaying body cameras for what could be years, calling it a public safety disaster.