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Los Angeles police officers tampered with voice recording equipment in dozens of patrol cars in an effort to avoid being monitored while on duty, according to records and interviews.
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and other top officials learned of the problem last summer but chose not to investigate which officers were responsible.
The cameras, which turn on automatically whenever an officer activates the car's emergency lights and sirens or can be activated manually, are used to record traffic stops and other encounters that occur in front of the vehicle. Officers also wear small transmitters on their belts that relay their voices back to the antennas in the patrol car.
Most of the antennas were removed from cars in the Southeast Division, which covers Watts, Jordan Downs and Nickerson Gardens, where relations between police and minority communities have historically been marred by mistrust and claims of officer abuse. The in-car video cameras have been touted as a powerful deterrent to police misconduct and a tool for defending officers against false accusations.
A federal judge last year formally ended more than a decade of close monitoring of the LAPD by the U.S. Department of Justice. The judge agreed to lift the oversight, in part, after city and police leaders made assurances that the LAPD had adequate safeguards, such as the cameras, in place to monitor itself.
Last month, the department conducted a follow-up audit and found that dozens of the transmitters worn by officers in Southeast Division were missing or damaged.
olaru12
I find it odd that LEOs who are probably conservative republicans and think everyone should take personal responsibly for their actions, disable the equipment that records their actions against the people that pay their salary.
A Culture of corruption and lies is the reason people have no respect for those in authority.
linky
He literally said "Now you are being silly...but if its the law, I enforce it; I don't make them."
Krazysh0t
Abuse and corruption. It's the name of the game these days. How do you change a system so mired by corruption that every avenue you pursue is impeded by more corruption?
RoScoLaz
shame about those few bad apples.....
RoScoLaz
shame about those few bad apples.....